Come Back To Me
by Hidden Heart 92
Summary: Nora and Mary Louise are brought back to the world of the living but Mary Lou can't remember a thing! Not even Nora! Can Nora help her get her memory back or will Valerie use this to her own advantage?
1. Chapter 1

**COME BACK TO ME**

 **Author's Note- This is set after Nora and Mary Louise sacrificed themselves to stop Rayna. Now if you were as heartbroken by this as I was, then you know the only way to deal with this is to bring them back...so I've only gone and done it!**

 **Hope you guys like it.**

 **As always, I own nothing, all rights go to their respective owners.**

 **CHAPTER 1**

She was in some sort of red orb. She had to be.

Nora frowned as she stood and tried to take stock of where she was.

Where was Mary Lou?

"Mary Lou?!" Nora called, her voice echoing around the cavernous place.

No one answered her. They sacrificed themselves together, so it only stood to reason that she would be here too.

There was no where else to go that Nora could see and for a moment, she worried that she was stuck in the stone, just like Stephan had been, but that couldn't be.

The stone had been destroyed.

"Mary Lou?!" Nora tried again. Where was she?

Nora became unbalanced as the ground beneath her boots shook and the walls started trembling. Then the wall in front of her opened up and she felt as though she were being pulled towards it.

No! Her mind screamed. She was not leaving without Mary Lou!

But the pull, whatever it was, was too strong and it kept on pulling until Nora fell through the wall and landed with a heavy thud onto a hard wood floor.

When she opened her eyes, Valerie was looking down on her.

"Welcome back." She drawled.

Nora glared at the other Heretic and got to her feet.

"What did you do?" She spat.

Valerie smirked at Nora's reaction.

"You're welcome."

"You should have left me! Mary Louise is trapped there! Why did you take me and not her?!" Nora shouted angrily as she paced back and forth like an untamed lion.

"Nora, I-"

"You send me back! Right now! I need to find her!"

"Nora."

The brunette looked up at the sound of a male voice.

"Damon?"

He nodded.

Nora glanced from Damon to Valerie and back again.

"Why are you helping her?" Nora asked slowly, trying to get her head around all of this.

"It's nice to see you too, Nora." Damon said with a forced smile.

Valerie sighed.

"We brought you back in the hope that you could help us bring Stephan back."

Nora was too distracted, she wanted to go back and find Mary Louise, that's all she wanted.

"Why didn't you bring him back the same way you brought me back?"

"The magic holding Stephan's soul is too strong and we needed help from someone like you and we thought that by bringing you back-"

"Bring Mary Lou back and I'll help you. I'll do whatever it takes." Nora implored.

Damon blinked.

"Wow, she's practically begging."

Nora glared at him.

"You would be too if it was the love of your life."

Damon remained silent.

Valerie looked at her.

"Nora, we have something to tell you...it's about Mary Louise."

Nora felt her heart stop. She knew that Valerie's next words would either shatter it or give it new life.

"Yes?" Nora pushed but her mouth went dry.

Damon glanced at Nora's arm.

"The marks' gone. The stone really is destroyed."

Valerie nodded.

"Good, now that's out of the way, I can tell you about Mary Louise."

"What does it matter if I was marked or not?"

Valerie sighed again, she hated having to explain things.

"If you were still marked when we brought you back, there was a slight chance that Rayna could hunt you but when you and Mary Louise destroyed the stone, Rayna lost her power and therefore your mark has gone. Rayna is still alive but she has no power anymore."

Nora checked her arm. It had gone. It was like it'd never been there in the first place.

"Now, about Mary Louise."

Nora listened intently.

Valerie looked at Damon and then back to Nora.

"She's already here."

Nora's face brightened considerably.

"She is?"

Valerie's face darkened a little but Nora noticed it.

"Well where is she? I want to see her."

"She's upstairs-

Nora moved and Valerie stood in her way.

"But Nora you should know, she doesn't remember anything."

Nora blinked.

"What? How is that possible?"

"We're still trying to understand that part but she's frightened, Nora. Be careful."

Nora nodded her head slowly and then turned toward the stairs.

She knew Mary Louise as the fearless type. The one who would defend her no matter what. To hear that she was now acting like a frightened little girl, that put Nora on edge. Mary Lou had always looked after her but now that Nora found she would have to be the one to do it, she felt unsure but she would do whatever was required of her. If it saved them, she would do it without question.

Nora took the stairs hesitantly, her hand trembling on the rail.

Valerie stood at the foot of the stairs.

"Do you need me to come up with you?"

Nora shook her head.

"No. I need to see her on my own."

Valerie nodded and watched as Nora walked up the stairs.

Part of her wanted to run up them and the other part of her wanted to take as much time as possible as she feared what she might find.

She turned the corner and went to their room. The door was shut and Nora took a breath before pushing on it and letting it swing open.

Nora could have cried, there was Mary Louise huddled on the floor, in a corner, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. Nora took small comfort in the fact that at the least the blonde wasn't ill anymore. It had gone, the same way as her mark from Rayna had gone.

"Mary Lou?" Nora said softly.

The blonde looked up at her and for a moment, Nora wondered if Mary Lou recognized her but then she grew fearful and tried to back herself even further into the corner.

Nora crouched down in front of her but kept a safe distance in case she scared the blonde more than she already had.

"Do you remember me?" Nora asked, her voice cracking as tears filled her eyes.

Mary Louise shook her head.

"Do you remember your name?"

She nodded after a moment's thought.

Nora licked her lips and moved an inch closer.

"My name is Nora. We...we have been together for over a 133 years now. Do you remember that?"

The blonde looked up and Nora smiled warmly, begging silently for Mary Lou to know who she was; what they meant to each other.

A tear fell down Nora's cheek.

"Please tell me you remember that." She whispered brokenly.

"I am sorry...but I do not know you." The blonde replied softly.

That broke Nora's heart and she forced herself to stay in the same room as the one who meant so much to her.

"We were engaged...you and I. We were going to start a new life together away from this place." Nora told her, her voice still not even.

The blonde shook her head.

"Please, Mare, you know it's the truth. Deep down, somewhere inside you know it. What do you feel when you look at me?"

Mary Louise looked at Nora.

"You seem like a nice person but I do not remember you and I do not believe that we were together."

"We were. I swear to you, we were. Yes, we've had our fights but we always find our way back to each other. I love you, Mary Lou." Nora said with tears running down her face.

Mary Louise flinched as Nora took hold of her hands.

"We died together to save others from undergoing the same fate as us. We did that and Valerie brought us back."

Mary Louise seemed to brighten at the mention of a name she recognized.

"Valerie. The woman who made me some tea."

Nora nodded but frowned a little.

"I suppose so, yes." Nora replied awkwardly because she wasn't sure if that is what Valerie did when they brought Mary Louise back, so she just went with it for now.

"She seems lovely."

Nora frowned.

"She's not. We hated her."

Mary Lou frowned.

"We did?"

"Immensely! But don't tell her that, she's also a very powerful Heretic." Nora said with a wink.

Mary Louise frowned again.

"What is a Heretic?"

Nora blinked. It was strange having to explain these things to the blonde. They were simple, everyday things that they both knew but the thing that broke Nora's heart the most was that Mary Lou refused to believe they loved each other.

"A Heretic is what we are. There was a lady called Lilian Salvatore and she changed us into Vampires but we are also Siphoners, that in turn, makes us Hybrids."

The blonde looked suddenly panicked and she squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head.

"This is all very confusing, N...N-"

"Nora."

"Sorry, Nora. I have heard of Vampires, I slightly recall it from my childhood but I am not clear of what it means."

Then almost as if by magic, Valerie appeared.

"Mary Louise, Nora has to come with me now but she'll be back to see you soon, ok?"

The blonde nodded and Valerie took Nora by the arm and steered her out of the room and onto the landing.

"Ow, what is your problem?" Nora hissed, remembering to lower her voice so that Mary Louise couldn't hear her.

"She has just found out that she is a Vampire and a Heretic. The last thing she needs is you frightening her by explaining it. I mean let's be honest Nora, you're not exactly tactful are you?"

Nora folded her arms indignantly.

"I am just trying to help my girlfriend remember who she is."

"Yes well, she's not your girlfriend anymore, is she?"

Nora stared at Valerie and the other Heretic let out a breath.

"I'm sorry, Nora but she doesn't believe you ever had a relationship. We asked her about you when we brought her back...she doesn't remember you at all. She doesn't even remember that she loves you."

Nora's eyes darkened.

"She will. I don't care how long it takes, she will remember."

Valerie nodded that she understood.

"Now about our part of the deal. You helping to bring Stephan back-"

"I'll do it. I've said as much but I won't be helping anyone until Mary Lou gets her memory back."

Valerie sighed.

"We don't know if she ever will, Nora. We could be waiting for years!"

"Then we'll wait for years. If I have to wait to get my girlfriend back, Damon will have to wait for his brother."

Nora walked off, leaving Valerie to come to terms with what she'd just said.

She knew that bringing Mary Louise and Nora back and getting them to agree to do this would not be easy, especially Nora but maybe if she got Mary Louise to trust her, she could get the blonde to help bring Stephan back and then Nora would have no choice but to help. She knew Nora would do anything the blonde asked.

So maybe this was some sort of twisted blessing.

Valerie only hoped that she could gain Mary Louise's trust before Nora did then she shrugged carelessly, the way Nora was, it shouldn't be too difficult.

 **Author's Note- Hope you guys liked the first chapter, let me know what you think. X**


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The bar was dark and quiet but it was still the last place that Bonnie expected to see Nora. The news of her and Mary Louise's sacrifice had gotten around fast, the news of them being brought back, not so much.

"Nora?"

Nora turned and slightly wobbled on the bar stool. She had been drinking.

"Bonnie...how nice to see you." Nora slurred, her eyes barely open.

Bonnie frowned at the vampire.

"How much have you drunk?"

One...two...five, I can't remember but I feel great!" She said with a lazy smile.

Bonnie moved towards her and just about stopped her from falling off the stool.

"Oop, I'm fine. I'm fine." Nora said, holding up her hands.

Bonnie looked at the vampire and gave her a sympathetic look.

Nora turned her nose up in disgust.

"Ugh, what is that terrible pity look for?"

"I know what you and Mary Louise did...it was very noble of you both."

Nora shrugged.

"Yes well, now we're back and my own girlfriend can't even remember my name."

Bonnie frowned slightly.

"But you can remember everything?"

Nora nodded.

"Maybe there's some sort of incantation we could try?" The witch offered.

Nora shrugged.

"Maybe but then it's getting Mary Louise to agree to it and she's frightened enough as it is."

Bonnie sighed a little.

"Maybe try and talk to her."

"I would but Valerie says I'm not the most tactful."

Bonnie had to agree.

"That's true."

Nora glared at her.

Bonnie gave her a helpless gesture.

"Sorry but you do need to stop and think sometimes."

Nora sighed and raked her hair back as she licked her lips. Then her green eyes sought Bonnie's.

"I don't want to go home yet."

Bonnie nodded.

"That's fine. You can come back with me and we can talk."

Nora nodded gratefully and followed the witch out of the bar.

Valerie sat next to Mary Louise as she sipped her tea.

"How do you feel?"

The blonde smiled and nodded.

"Much better thank you."

"Good. I'm sorry... about Nora. She just misses you I suppose."

Mary Louise smiled again.

"It's alright. I just...I don't remember her and when she said that we were involved...well, I'm sorry but I just don't see it. Nora seems far too brash for someone like me."

Valerie gave her a small smile.

"Well I'm not sure about you and Nora but I can tell you one thing. It's important. Very important actually."

The blonde put her tea down and listened intently.

"You are not just a vampire, Mary Louise."

The blonde's green eyes widened.

"I'm not?"

Valerie shook her head, smiling.

"You are also a Siphoner."

"What is a Siphoner?"

"It's kind of like a witch and as scary as it is, you can now use your own powers instead of relying on others and that is because you were turned into a vampire. This is nothing to be scared or ashamed of, Mary Louise. It means you're special."

The blonde looked down at her hands, as though she could see magic coursing through them and frowned slightly.

Valerie touched her hand, making Mary Louise look up at her.

"This isn't something to be scared of, Mare. It's a gift and right now, you could use it to do some good, wouldn't you like to do some good?"

Mary Louise thought about it and then nodded.

"I suppose I would, yes."

Valerie smiled brightly at her.

"That's excellent news but I do have one problem."

"And that is?"

"I need the help of Nora, too."

The blonde seemed to sink back into her seat once she heard the brunette's name.

Valerie continued;

"I need you to convince her to help us. She will not be so willing at first but maybe if you're nice to her, she'll come around."

The blonde looked doubtful.

"I'm not sure how I could convince her to help, even if I was being nice to her."

"She loves you. It won't take much and you'll be doing a good thing, Mary Louise, trust me."

The blonde finally smiled and nodded.

"Alright, I will do it. Where is she?"

Bonnie handed Nora a mug of coffee which she accepted with a slurred 'thank you' and sipped at it.

Bonnie sat on the bed next to Nora, like she had done when Nora had been upset with Mary Louise after breaking things off with her.

"So, Mary Louise doesn't remember you?"

Nora shook her head.

"Nope. Not at all."

Bonnie sighed and placed a comforting hand on Nora's shoulder as the vampire put the mug down on the floor by the bed.

"Thank you." Nora said, looking back at her.

Bonnie gave her a small smile.

"For what?"

"For taking care of me...you really are a good person."

Bonnie chuckled.

"Really? Because the last time you said that, you got a text and then knocked me out with some pretty painful magic."

Nora chuckled as well.

"Yes, well I may have gotten the wrong of the stick there."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"You think?"

"Let me make it up to you." Nora said with a small grin.

Bonnie smirked.

"I doubt you could-"

Before Bonnie could finish her sentence, Nora had lent across and kissed her.

Bonnie pulled back, putting her hands on Nora's shoulders.

"Nora...I-"

The vampire shook her head.

"Oh...I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that. I know you're not like that and I shouldn't have tried-I should go." Nora stuttered, getting to her feet.

"No, Nora it's ok. But you're drunk and upset and I think maybe you just need someone to talk to. I can be that person. But I can't be the...'make out when you need it person'." She said, trying to joke and lighten the mood.

Nora chuckled humourlessly.

"You're a good friend and you're right, I am drunk. I should go home."

Bonnie looked at the bed. She would be out tonight so it didn't matter if Nora stayed.

"I'm going out later so why don't you sleep here tonight?"

Nora hesitated and then nodded.

"Thank you, that would be nice."

Bonnie smiled at Nora.

"You're welcome. Sleep well."

Nora nodded with a small smile and then Bonnie left her to get settled.


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

The house was quiet when Nora arrived home the next morning. There was no sign of Valerie or Damon. Mary Louise was probably still holed up in her room.

Nora sighed as she pushed on the door and nearly walked into the blonde.

Mary Louise gave a start and Nora dropped the book she had been holding.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you." Mary Louise said, bending to pick up the book and handing it back to Nora.

"Thanks." Nora said awkwardly.

"How are you feeling?"

The blonde smiled.

"Better, thank you. Valerie has been helping me and-"

"You can't trust her." Nora interjected.

Mary Louise forced the smile to stay on her face, remembering what Valerie had said about being nice to Nora.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk about Valerie for now. I want to know what you remember about...us."

Nora blinked. Had she heard right? Was Mary Lou finally coming around to the notion that her and Nora had actually been together?

"Um...sure, ok."

Nora gestured to the couch and Mary Louise went into the lounge and sat down.

Nora was a little unsure wether it was a good idea to sit next to her or not so she took the chair opposite instead.

"Have you started remembering anything?"

Mary Louise shook her head.

"No but you do and Valerie says that...she just thinks it would be good if we could talk."

Nora eyed the blonde suspiciously. She wondered what exactly Valerie had said to get Mary Louise to talk to her and why she would want that in the first place, unless this was leverage to get her to help bring Stefan back.

"Ok. What did you want to know?" Nora asked, leaning forward and putting her book on the table.

Mary Louise thought about her question.

"How did we meet?"

Nora remembered it so clearly. The day when she had found someone who was like her. Who lived a lie like she did, who was also a Siphoner.

A smile played on her lips.

"I was new to the Heretics. Lily-the woman who turned us- introduced me to you all and you were the first one to catch my eye. The rest as they say, is history."

Mary Louise smiled and looked down shyly.

"What was the first thing I said to you?"

"You told me that I was safe now. That no one would ever hurt me again...you seemed to being saying it as though you were making a promise." Nora said wistfully as she went back to that day in her mind.

"Maybe I was." The blonde said with a slight shrug.

"I wish you could remember." Nora muttered, her elbows resting on her knees as she looked down at the floor.

"So do I." Mary Louise said sadly then added;

"Maybe we should go out for a walk. Staying in this house is a little stifiling."

Nora nodded, pleased that she would be out and could get some fresh air.

Once they were outside, Mary Louise smiled and Nora took her hand without thinking.

The blonde looked down, a little shocked.

Nora instantly released her hand.

"I'm sorry. It's just that we..."

"No, It's fine. If I could remember, I'm sure I would've thought nothing of it."

Nora gave her a small smile and walked silently by her side.

Mary Louise bit her lip. What to say? What could she say? Valerie had said that they needed Nora to help with bringing Stefan back. Maybe she should start with that?

She opened her mouth to speak but then Nora stopped and turned to face her.

"I have this friend, Bonnie. She's a witch. She said that there is a spell we can try to see if we can restore your memory. What do you think?"

Mary Louise hesitated. A spell? Bonnie? That was someone she didn't know and what if Nora couldn't really be trusted? Maybe she should ask Valerie about this first but of course she couldn't tell Nora that.

She smiled and nodded.

Nora brightened considerably.

"That's great. I'll call Bonnie and-"

Mary Louise put a hand on Nora's arm.

"Not today. Tomorrow. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about it."

Nora nodded, trying to hide her disappointment. Then she remembered what had happened between her and Bonnie last night and she didn't want to lie to Mary Lou about anything, even if the blonde didn't love her anymore.

"Mare, there's something I have to tell you. I know it might mean nothing to you now but I just want to be honest."

Mary Louise frowned a little and then waited patiently.

Nora licked her lips and then looked into the blonde's green eyes.

"Last night, I was at a bar and I had too much to drink. Bonnie took me back to her place and I kissed her. I'm sorry, nothing else happened and she pushed me away but I felt so bad about it after. I'm sorry, Mare."

In truth, Nora was hoping to see a reaction. To see something in Mary Lou that would let Nora know that even if she didn't remember anything, she might feel something, anything but no, there was nothing.

Nora bit her lip and turned away.

Mary Louise let out a breath.

"I'm sorry if I should be angry at you but I'm not. You are not mine to boss around and even if you were, I would never do that."

Those words-'You are not mine'- they hurt Nora more than she cared to show and she just nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"I er...I think you should go back to the house now."

The blonde looked down.

"Oh...alright. What about you?"

Nora forced a small smile.

"I'm going to walk a bit more. I need to think."

Nora then remembered that Mary Louise didn't remember anything, including how to get back home.

"I'll walk you back."

The blonde nodded and Nora did just that.

Once they were at the door, Mary Louise turned to Nora.

"Why don't you come in? We can talk some more."

Nora shook her head, avoiding Mary Lou's gaze. She would only see how upset Nora was otherwise.

"There's really nothing to talk about...I just want to walk, please?"

Mary Louise nodded her head slowly and then went inside, shutting the door quietly.

Valerie stood behind Mary Louise as she came inside.

"Did it go well?"

The blonde shook her head.

"She really wants me to remember her, Valerie. She's gone so far as to call in an incantation to get my memory back. She has this friend, a witch who says she might be able to help."

Valerie looked at her.

"I think you should do it and I think you should do it tonight if possible."

Mary Louise looked up, shock written all over her face.

"You do?"

Valerie nodded.

"Come on, I'll talk you through it all and then when it happens, you'll be more prepared but you have to tell me everything that Nora said to you today."

Mary Louise nodded and followed Valerie upstairs.

Nora was pleased that Mary Lou had agreed to do the spell with Bonnie. She had faith that it would work but something still niggled at the back of Nora's brain.

Nora, on the quiet, was a bit of a romantic. She believed in love and that it was the strongest power of all. She believed that even if Mary Louise did lose her memory, she would still feel something for Nora. Something would pull her back to the other girl but because there had been no sign of this, Nora doubted Mary Louise's love for her and it hurt her to have that doubt in the first place.

Nora wasn't sure how long she'd been walking but the sky was getting dark and she felt a little cold. Then her phone started ringing.

She answered it.

"Nora?"

It was Mary Louise

"Mary Lou?"

"That spell to restore my memory, I want to do it tonight, if that's ok?"

"That's..yeah, sure, it should be fine. I'll call Bonnie and arrange to meet us at the house."

"Ok good. I'll see you soon."

Nora smiled as she pressed end call and then proceeded to call Bonnie.

"Bonnie? It's Nora. That spell you mentioned last night, can we do it tonight? Mary Lou wants to try it."

Nora let Bonnie in, giving her a tight hug as she came through the door.

She noticed Mary Louise sitting demurely in the lounge.

"Is it just us three?"

Nora nodded.

"I sent Valerie out."

Bonnie nodded.

"Good. We really don't need any distractions with something like this."

Nora nodded in understanding and then shut the door behind Bonnie.

She heard Bonnie introduce herself to Mary Louise (again) and then went into the lounge as Bonnie started preparing things.

Mary Louise looked a little worried.

"Will it hurt?"

Bonnie chuckled.

"No, of course not. I don't like to use spells to hurt people for no reason."

Nora smiled at Bonnie's compassion.

"Ok, are we ready?"

Nora nodded and then knelt on the floor, gesturing for Mary Louise to do the same.

Bonnie then got them to hold hands and said a few words that Mary Louise didn't understand. Lightning crackled and the room went dark. The flames of the candles started flickering and the room shook only a little but it set Mary Louise on edge while Nora went with it.

Then a light appeared. A bright, blue light and it shot straight towards Mary Louise's head. The blonde's eyes snapped open and the blue light was reflected in her eyes.

Something was working.

Then as quickly as it had started, it was over.

Bonnie opened her eyes, followed by Nora and they both looked to see Mary Louise laying on her side.

Nora panicked.

"Oh my god, is she alright?! What happened?!"

Bonnie nodded but her face was still serious.

"She's fine. She'll be awake in a few minutes."

Nora looked from Mary Louise and then back to Bonnie.

"Do you think it worked?"

"We'll know in a little while. Maybe you should get her comfortable for when she wakes up."

Nora nodded and put Mary Louise on the couch gently.

Bonnie asked Nora to call her if things hadn't worked and they would try something different tomorrow but Bonnie was confident that it would work.

Nora thanked her for all her help and then shut the door behind Bonnie.

She turned and watched Mary Louise as she slept.

She would be fine. She had to be.

 **Author's Note- Did it work?**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Nora watched the blonde sleep. She had a small smile on her lips as she slept and Nora resisted the urge to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes. She was scared of startling her if she woke up sooner than Bonnie had predicted.

Nora got up and started pacing. Only occasionally, would she look back at Mary Lou and see if she'd moved at all.

A key in the door made Nora look up as Valerie walked through.

The other Heretic stopped just before the lounge and Nora stood in the doorway to it, feeling overly protective of the sleeping blonde.

"Have I come back too early?" Valerie asked.

"No but she's sleeping." Nora replied.

Valerie looked around Nora to see Mary Louise sleeping on the couch.

"Did it work?"

Nora shrugged.

"We don't know yet. Bonnie said she should wake up in a few hours and it's only been-" Nora checked her watch-"half an hour."

Valerie nodded.

"I guess it's best just to keep an eye on her."

Nora nodded in agreement.

"You should go and get some sleep. I'll be staying up tonight."

"Of course but I can watch her if you get-"

"No." Nora cut in sharply.

Valerie gave her a small frown.

"I'm sorry, Valerie but I need to be here when she wakes up. If it's worked..."

"You want to be the first thing she sees." Valerie finished for her then shrugged;

"It's understandable. I'll be in my room."

Nora nodded and watched Valerie head upstairs.

Mary Louise was still sleeping but Nora was getting impatient. When was she going to wake up?

Nora licked her lips and then went over to the couch, kneeling beside it.

She knew that Mary Louise couldn't hear her but that didn't stop Nora from wanting to tell the blonde everything she felt; in some ways it actually made it easier.

"How to begin to tell you this." Nora said softly.

She then brushed that free strand of hair back from Mary Lou's eyes and smiled warmly.

"You have shown me time and time again that what we have is real and when you forgot about me, I doubted that you ever really loved me at all. I shouldn't have because I know without a doubt that you will always be there for me. Your last gift to me was sacrificing your life so that I could be free of Rayna."

Nora wiped a stray tear away and sniffed to stop any more from coming even though she knew it was pointless and she ended up sobbing through the rest of what she had to say.

"If this spell has worked, I just need you to know that I will spend all of eternity showing you how much I love you. You won't ever have to be afraid of losing me again. Yes, I like my freedom and I wanted to experience things in this new world but...all of that means nothing without you by my side. I love you, Mary Lou and I am begging you...please, come back to me." Nora found herself crying openly then and put her head down on the edge of the couch near the blonde's head.

She had never wanted something so badly since the day she had met Mary Louise and now she found that what she wanted then, was the same thing as what she wanted now. She just wanted the love of her life.

"Nora..."

The brunette lifted her head and found Mary Louise with her eyes barely open.

"Mare?" Nora asked, hope filling her voice.

The blonde nodded and then frowned.

"Why are you crying?"

Nora wiped away her tears and smiled a little instead.

"It's just me being silly. Do you remember anything? Did the spell work?"

Mary Louise looked deep into Nora's eyes and then nodded her head.

"As if I could ever forget you."

Nora smiled brightly and kissed her girlfriend with fresh tears coming down her cheeks.

"What happened? The last thing I remember is telling you I loved you right before we destroyed Rayna's power."

Nora shook her head, stil smiling.

"None of that matters now. We're back and we can leave this dreadful place and start over together somewhere new."

Mary Lou frowned.

"Is it just us?"

"No, Valerie is here too. She brought us back."

"She did?"

Nora nodded and then rolled her eyes.

"And now she wants our help to bring Stefan back."

Mary Louise frowned slightly.

"And why should we?"

Nora sighed.

"I guess it would be a nice gesture considering she brought us back."

"But if she brought _two_ of us back, why can't she bring Stefan back?"

"Because Stefan's spirit has gone to the afterlife, we were trapped in some strange dimension. Getting Stefan back is going to require twice the power." Nora explained.

The blonde nodded along, listening.

"Well I suppose you're right. We should help her get back her beloved being as she did the same for us."

Nora frowned.

"Actually, it was Bonnie that restored your memory."

Mary Lou shrugged.

"Oh, ok. Well we'll send her a fruit basket and help Valerie with Stefan. Agreed?"

Nora took hold of Mary Lou's hands.

"I'm not sure, Mare. Now that I've got you back...I don't know, maybe we should just go. Forget about everything here."

Mary Louise smiled at her.

"I would love nothing more but Valerie did bring us back. We should really repay that."

Nora sighed. She just wanted to start over with Mary Lou somewhere else. She wanted to leave all this behind and just be with the one she loved above all others.

She pictured them maybe going back to England and living in some lovely little cottage near the river in the country and just being happy together. They would go into the city every once in a while and feed but discreetly, making sure to keep a low profile.

Then they would take forest walks early in the mornings and spend nights laying in the fields, looking up at the stars and holding hands but despite her fantasies, she knew that Mary Louise was right so she nodded with a small smile.

"Alright. We'll help her but as soon as Stefan comes back, we get out of here."

Mary Lou leaned forward and kissed her girlfriend.

"It's a deal."

Nora smiled.

"We'll tell Valerie tomorrow but first, you need your sleep. Go on, I'll be there in a bit."

Mary Louise smiled as she looked back at Nora.

"Nora."

The brunette looked up and found Mary Louise smiling warmly down at her.

"I love you."

Nora smiled shyly.

"I love you too."

She then watched as the blonde went upstairs.

Once Mary Lou was out of sight, Nora pulled her phone from her pocket and text Bonnie.

'THANK U. IT WORKED. XX'

The next morning, Nora layed beside Mary Lou and stroked her hair back into place with a warm smile on her face.

The blonde stirred and stretched, slowly opening her eyes.

"Good morning." Nora purred.

Mary Louise looked around the room as if forgetting where she was and then she smiled at Nora.

"Morning."

Nora bent her head, kissing her girlfriend's lips gently.

"I've missed you." Nora whispered.

The blonde smiled and licked her lips.

"And I, you."

Nora kissed her again and then moved to hover over her. She had planned to wait until Mary Lou was more settled but she couldn't help herself. She was done waiting.

Mary Louise groaned as Nora kissed her way up her neck and tangled her hands in Mary Louise's soft blonde hair.

Then before Nora knew what was going on, the blonde flipped them and grinned down at the brunette as she deepened the kiss.

Nora remembered when they had first met, how Mary Louise acted like Nora was her life source and if she stopped taking from her, she wouldn't survive the night.

Any chance the blonde got to touch Nora, she took. Yes she had been nervous of this new world but that didn't seem to be the case now.

Nora tried to flip them again but the blonde was only slightly stronger and held her in place then proceeded to gently bite down on Nora's bare shoulder which made the brunette mark Mary Lou's pale flesh with light scratches and that in turn, made the blonde hiss in pleasure.

"Nora! Mary Lou!"

Nora rolled her eyes and Mary Louise sighed.

"Valerie." Nora muttered.

Mary Louise nodded and then sat back, letting Nora get up and grab the rest of her clothes while the blonde stayed under the sheets.

"What do you suppose she wants?" Mary Lou asked, propping her head up with one hand, her elbow resting on the pillow.

"Probably to talk about Stefan and how to bring him back."

The blonde's eyes widened only slightly at Nora's back as she pulled on her leggings.

"Are we still helping them?"

Nora pulled the white top on over her head and then crawled back onto the bed towards her girlfriend, giving her a light kiss.

"We don't have to. We could always just up and leave." She said with a dark chuckle.

"Nora!" Valerie shouted and this time it sounded as though she were just outside their door.

Nora groaned loudly.

"I'm coming!" She shouted back.

She gave Mary Lou another kiss before getting up and heading for the door.

"I'll be down soon." The blonde promised.

Nora nodded and shut the door behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Nora was clever and tried to buy as much time for Mary Louise and herself before they actually agreed to help bring Stefan back.

Nora wanted to make up for lost time with her girlfriend and even though they were planning to leave Mystic Falls, that didn't stop the brunette from wanting to spend every minute of every day with her lover.

Valerie was growing impatient. Damon was on her case about why the other Heretics were stalling so one day, while Nora was out, Valerie turned her attention to Mary Louise.

She stood, leaning against the door post while Mary Lou sat the table, reading poems that Nora had written to her years ago. She was smiling fondly at the writing and she didn't even seem to notice that Valerie stood behind her.

"You're enjoying this, are you?" Valerie asked, her tone laced with venom.

The blonde's smile still remained as she turned around in her chair.

"She really loves me, doesn't she?"

Valerie nodded, folding her arms.

"She does. She's happy now that you're back. Happier than I've ever seen her in fact."

Mary Lou smiled and Valerie walked towards her, clenching her teeth.

"But that doesn't exempt you from the fact that we have a little arrangement."

Mary Louise looked down at the floor, nodding her head slowly.

Valerie sighed and softened the tone of her voice.

"I know it's difficult now but look at it for what it is; Nora is happy and you said you didn't want her to feel hurt anymore, didn't you?"

The blonde lifted her eyes her to Valerie's.

"I did, but lying to her? Pretending that my memory was recovered during that silly spell? Is this really the right thing to do? And how do I know that if you had not of given me that protection charm, it wouldn't have worked?"

"Because something such as recovering memory is not that easy. Don't you think if it were I would've done it for you myself?"

Mary Louise nodded in agreement. She trusted Valerie and she knew that she had her best interests at heart.

"Now, Nora will continue to be happy and you will continue to play the doting girlfriend, are we clear?"

The blonde nodded and Valerie smiled.

"Good. Now see if you can convince her to help with the Stefan problem. I'm getting tired of waiting."

...

Nora came back to the house with her arms full of shopping bags. Mary Louise met her in the kitchen and she chuckled when she saw Nora struggling to get them on the counter.

"What is all that?!" Mary Lou asked through her laughter.

Nora smiled.

"I thought we would have a nice night in, so I've got us some goodies."

The blonde smiled at her thoughtfulness.

Nora really was sweet and it was now that she wished she could remember everything about their time together. Valerie's words came back to her and the smile faded almost instantly from her lips.

Nora saw it straight away and her brow furrowed.

"Mare? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just that...I think we should help Valerie with Stefan now, don't you think?"

Nora nodded but she didn't looked overjoyed about it.

"Great, I'll go tell Valerie and then we can-"

Nora stopped the blonde from walking out by putting a hand on her arm.

"Not tonight. Let's just have this night in and then tomorrow we'll tell her, please?"

Mary Louise gave Nora a warm smile and lent forward, giving her a gentle kiss.

"Of course. Why spoil a lovely evening?"

Nora smiled and then started preparing food, drink and snacks of all sorts.

Mary Louise took a seat at the kitchen counter and watched the brunette at work.

Nora turned when she felt herself being watched and frowned with amusement.

"Why are you watching me?"

Mary Lou smiled.

"I like watching you. You have everything in order and you know what you're doing."

Nora smirked.

"Except when I'm making pancakes."

The blonde frowned a little.

"Pancakes?"

"Yes. You remember, our last anniversary, I burnt a whole stack of them and nearly set the kitchen on fire."

The frown remained on the blonde's face.

"You do remember that? Don't you?"

Mary Louise forced herself to smile.

"Of course. Just like it was yesterday."

Nora smiled, content with that answer and then moved the bowls of snacks into the lounge.

Mary Louise followed her in.

"So, what are we watching?"

Nora turned around, a bright smile on her face.

"Well, I thought we could watch one of your favourites."

Mary Lou wondered which one it could be.

"Which is?"

Nora frowned again.

"Pick one. I thought you would jump at this chance."

The blonde panicked. God, how she hated lying to Nora.

"I think you should pick for me."

Nora smiled.

"Ok, I will."

She then went back into the kitchen to fetch the drinks and pretty soon, the lounge looked lovely and cosy and Mary Louise wanted nothing more than to snuggle up to Nora on the couch and rest her head on the brunette's shoulder while they watched whatever it was Nora had chosen.

Valerie came downstairs just before they were ready to start and she gave Mary Louise a look before heading for the door.

"You two have a nice night." She called before they both heard the front door shut quietly.

Nora sat down first and took Mary Lou's hand, pulling her gently down next to her.

The blonde smiled and tucked her legs underneath her, getting comfortable.

Nora put the film on and they watched it all the way through to the end with Nora commenting on something she thought wasn't right or something that Mary Louise liked. It was nice and comfortable but when the credits went up, Mary Lou was sad that the night was ending.

Nora got up and headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" The blonde asked brightly but she also felt lonely when Nora moved away from her.

Nora turned back, a knowing smile on her face.

"To get something. Meet me in the garden. I won't be long."

Mary Louise smiled and then did as instructed.

The garden was dark but there were a few lit laterns that made it feel warm and restful. Mary Louise wondered if it had always been like this and tears stung the backs of her eyes as she wished she could remember. Nora was a lovely girl and Mary Louise now knew that it had to be true that they had been together, who wouldn't want to be with Nora, she was perfect.

Mary Louise turned once she heard Nora's boots on the concrete.

"There you are."

Nora smiled nervously and took a step towards the blonde.

"I know this isn't as special as when you did it but I'm going to try and hope that this is what you still want."

Mary Louise watched as Nora produced a ring. It was beautiful white gold with a little diamond in the center. On the band, written in ittalics was the words 'Eternity'.

Mary Louise felt tears coming forward again as Nora looked into her eyes.

"You were right before; 133 years is not enough."

Mary Louise hated that she couldn't remember saying that.

Nora took the blonde's hand and slipped the ring onto her wedding finger.

Mary Louise looked down at the ring and her brows drew together.

Nora's heart almost stopped.

"Mare?"

"I can't do this..." She whispered, her eyes not leaving the ring on her finger.

"What? Have I done something wrong? Is it too soon? Tell me."

Mary Louise shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"I can't do this to you."

"Can't do what to me? Mare, please, I don't understand."

Mary Louise lifted her tear stained face to look Nora in the eye.

"I've...I've been lying to you."

Nora frowned.

"Lying to me? Lying to me how?"

"I haven't got my memory back, Nora. I can't remember a thing."

"But when I kissed you, you didn't pull back and I know you feel something I-"

"You're right, I do. I do feel something but I don't remember any of it. And as strange as this sounds, the only thing that I am completely sure of is that over time, pretending to love you...I actually do. I love you, Nora."

The brunette stared at the blonde and shook her head.

"I can't believe this...you lied to me, but why?"

"Valerie said that-"

"Valerie?! Why would you listen to her?"

"Nora, please hear me out."

"What else is there to say, Mary Lou? You've listened to Valerie and she's twisted your mind to make you rely on her! At what point did you think that lying to me was the right thing to do? And Bonnie, she did that spell, why didn't it work-"

"Valerie gave me a charm. She said the spell could harm me rather than cure me. That's why it didn't work." Mary Louise explained.

Nora turned away from her and Mary Louise grabbed her arm.

"Nora, please. I'm sorry...I love you."

Nora looked down at the hand on her arm.

"And you think I could ever love someone who lies to me like you have?"

"Valerie said that-"

"And you trusted her...I loved you, I told you I loved you but still, you went to her."

Nora pulled her arm away harshly and left Mary Louise standing there, tears falling down her face and a heart that was breaking for the one she loved above everyone else. If only she could remember.

 **Author's Note- So Mary Louise has been lying all along! Valerie has been manipulating her and poor Nora didn't have a clue about any of it! Think they can work it out?**

 **I'll update soon so you can see what happens for yourself.**

 **Thank you to all who review/favourite and follow, it means a lot. X**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Nora stood outside the door and took a breath before knocking. She went to walk away, realising how needy she might seem, when the door opened and Bonnie looked out at her with a small frown on her face. The witch was always on the defense.

"Nora?"

The brunette raised green eyes to the other woman.

"Can I come in?"She asked softly.

Bonnie stepped aside.

"Of course."

She let Nora step over the threshold and closed the door behind her.

"Is it Mary Louise?"

Nora nodded and rubbed her arms self conciously as she settled on the end of the bed. Bonnie sat next to her.

"What is it? Has she hurt you?"

"No, no nothing like that." Nora said but her voice was close to breaking so she tried to say as little as possible without getting upset.

"Then what is it?" Bonnie asked, placing a comforting hand on Nora's shoulder.

Nora bit her lip and looked up at the ceiling as if that would keep the tears from coming.

"The spell you did...it didn't work." Nora struggled to tell her.

Bonnie frowned and shook her head.

"Oh my God, Nora...I'm so sorry. I thought I did everything right, I-"

"You did...it was Valerie."

Bonnie's frown deepened.

"What? Valerie?-I don't understand."

"She gave Mary Louise a charm to protect her against it." Nora's voice was trembling now.

"Why would she do that?"

"She's manipulated Mary Louise into thinking that she knows what's best for her."

Bonnie thought back to the text that Nora had sent her.

"But you text me and said that it worked."

This time, Nora couldn't stop it and the tears rolled down her face.

"She lied to me, Bonnie. She pretended to remember. I think Valerie may have told her everything about us." Nora sobbed with a hint of anger tinging her voice.

Bonnie pulled Nora into a hug while the vampire cried on her shoulder.

"How did you find out?" Bonnie asked her carefully.

"She told me...after I proposed to her. She said-she said she loves me even though she doesn't remember loving me."

Bonnie smiled a little at the sentiment.

"So she's fallen in love with you all over again. That's kinda...romantic."

Nora stood up quickly, that anger coming to the surface.

"No! She lied to me! How can I ever forgive that?!"

Bonnie stayed sitting on the bed as she looked up at the brunette.

"Because she didn't have to tell you. She could've gone along with Valerie's plan but she didn't."

"Only because the guilt finally got to her! I mean we shared so much these last few months, we became more affectionate with each other. My God we even had-"

Bonnie held up a hand.

"I don't need to know that."

Nora stopped herself and looked down.

Bonnie handed her a tissue.

"Here."

Nora took it and muttered her thanks.

Bonnie sighed and got up slowly from the bed.

"Look, I think you should go back to the house and talk to Mary Louise about it all then I would definitely confront Valerie and it would be better if you could confront her together. Then once everything has settled and Mary Louise is agreeable, I'll try the spell again."

Nora looked up then, hope shining in her eyes.

"You will?"

Bonnie smiled and nodded.

Nora pulled her into a fierce hug.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome." Bonnie said with a slight chuckle.

Nora let her go and took a step back.

"I should probably go and talk to Mary Louise. Thank you...for everything."

Bonnie nodded.

"Hey, we're friends, remember?"

Nora smiled at that.

...

Mary Louise sat in the garden that next morning, looking down at the ring on her finger.

Valerie came out and looked at the blonde with a confused frown on her face.

"Something wrong?"

Mary Louise looked up at her with tears in her blue-green eyes.

"Nora proposed."

"And that's what's upset you?"

"No, in fact...I'd never felt happier but Valerie I couldn't lie to her anymore."

The other Heretic's eyes went wide.

"What did you do?"

"I told her...everything."

"You stupid little bitch! Why did you do that?! She was happy! Everything was going according to plan!"

Mary Louise got to her feet.

"You mean it was going the way _you_ wanted."

"It was going the way everyone wanted, Mary Louise! The only one dumb enough not to see that was you!"

"I couldn't lie to Nora! Not now I know that-" The blonde vampire stopped herself.

Valerie narrowed her eyes.

"That you know what?"

Mary Louise avoided her gaze.

Valerie stalked towards her, backing her up against the brick wall.

"What do you know?"

The blonde glanced down at the ring and Valerie took Mary Lou's chin, jerking it up sharply so she could look into the blonde's eyes.

Her lips split into a cold grin and she smirked.

"You love her..."

Mary Louise nodded her head slowly and Valerie released her.

"Looks like I'll have to resort to plan B then."

The blonde looked at her with a nervous expression.

"What's that?"

Valerie grabbed Mary Lou by the throat and uttered a spell, knocking the blonde out cold. She let her drop to the ground before she gave her one sharp kick to the head, letting a deep red gash form on Mary Louise's head.

She then proceeded to pull out her phone and take a picture of the blonde laying there, helpless and injured. She then sent it to Nora along with a text.

...

Nora was just about to leave Bonnie's when her phone buzzed.

"That's probably her now." Bonnie said with a kind smile.

Nora rolled her eyes and checked.

IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE HER ALIVE AGAIN, YOU'LL DO EXACTLY AS I SAY. YOU CAN START BY COMING BACK TO THE HOUSE. ALONE.

Nora's eyes widened as she scrolled down and saw the picture of Mary Louise laying on the ground. She let out a small sound of panic and Bonnie looked at the brunette.

"What's wrong?"

Nora wouldn't answer her. She couldn't.

"Nora?"

She looked up and then forced herself to remain calm.

"It's nothing. There's just something I have to do."

...

Mary Louise woke slowly. Where was she? The room was dimly lit and as she tried to move her arms, she found that they were chained. She started to panic and kept pulling to see if she could move the chains.

Boots sounded on the wooden floor and Valerie came into view.

The blonde's eyes widened.

"What did you do to me?" Mary Louise snapped.

Valerie shrugged.

"Well, I could see things weren't exactly going to plan so I had to switch it up a bit."

Mary Louise realised that they were still in the house and she wasn't sure how much time had passed that she'd been out cold but she could see Stefan's body on a table just to the right of her.

"What are you going to do?"

Valerie followed the blonde's gaze to Stefan and gave her a small smile.

"You, me and Nora are going to bring Stefan back from the afterlife. I've already told her to come here, so I don't think she will be too long."

The blonde wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"As if she would ever listen to you. She told me not to trust you." She added under her breath.

Valerie smirked.

"And yet...you still did."

Mary Louise put her head down as though she was ashamed.

Valerie crouched down in front of her.

"I'm curious, when I brought you back, you had no intention of reliving your relationship with Nora, you couldn't even fathom it... but after only a few months of pretense with the brat, suddenly you're in love? How does that happen?"

The blonde wanted to smile as she pictured Nora in her mind's eye. The girl had that affect on her.

Mary Louise looked down at Valerie, a cold grin on her lips.

"It's love, Valerie...there's no explanation for it. You just feel it and all it took was for you to force me to spend time with Nora, to act as though my heart was open to her, instead of shutting it away like I did in the begining and instead of pretending to be in love...that is exactly what happened. Love is love and I would die for her a hundred times over if it means that she never has to experience heartbreak like this ever again." Mary Louise's voice was hard and Valerie flinched when the blonde vampire turned her deadly glare on her.

The other Heretic stood and pushed her shoulder's back, feigning a look of arrogance.

"Well, your beloved will be here soon."

The blonde turned her head away and muttered;

"I'll never help you."

Valerie chuckled as she walked over to where Stefan's body rested.

"You won't have a choice. Neither of you will."

The door opened and Nora ran inside.

"Mary Lou!"

She stopped when she saw the blonde chained to a chair and Valerie standing near Stefan's body.

Nora's green eyes narrowed and she took a stance that looked like she was about to launch herself at the conniving Heretic.

"What have you done to her?" Nora growled.

"Only tied her up. I had to knock her out to do it though." Valerie said, trying to goad the brunette.

Nora looked around Valerie at Mary Louise and saw the gash on her head.

"You've hurt her." She snarled, her anger growing by the minute.

Valerie shrugged.

"I had to. Things weren't exactly going my way now were they, Mary Lou?"

The blonde remained quiet.

Nora raised her chin.

"You want to bring Stefan back. We're here now, both of us. So let's just get this over with and let her go."

Mary Louise lifted her head.

"Nora, no! I won't help her! I won't allow you to be used by her!"

Nora shook her head.

"You no longer have a say in this."

The blonde flinched at Nora's words. She knew she had deeply hurt Nora and it seemed like no matter what she said, nothing would make Nora see her as anything other than a traitor now.

Still, Mary Louise wanted to prove to Nora that she loved her. That she wasn't pretending.

"I won't help you." She told Valerie.

Valerie turned to look at Mary Louise.

"I'm afraid you won't have a choice. Nora has already agreed."

"Yes but you can't hurt Nora. She's not tied up and helpless."

"No... but I can hurt you."

Nora took a step forward when Valerie moved towards the blonde.

"Valerie..."

"Relax. I won't hurt her...much."

Nora glared at the other Heretic's back and held her hand out stretched, ready to launch a deadly spell if Valerie didn't stop.

"No, you won't hurt her at all if you want my help."

Valerie turned and saw Nora all too ready to launch an attack.

"Do you really want to do that, Nora? You're the only one cooperating."

"But I won't if you lay a hand on her again."

Valerie sighed and held her hands up.

"Fine. Just get her to see sense, will you?"

Nora nodded.

"I need you to leave us alone."

"What? So you can escape?"

"Stand outside the door for all I care but if you want me to get her to help you, I'll need to talk to her alone." Nora snapped, losing her patience.

Valerie nodded and left the two of them alone.

 **Author's Note- A funny ending to this chapter I know, but the next chapter will have some heartfelt dialogue. Tissues at the ready guys! Hehe. ;)**

 **Thanks for your continued support, reviews, follows and favs. At least I know I'm not doing too bad with this one. X**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

Nora folded her arms over her chest as she looked down at Mary Louise who was chained to the chair.

Her gaze travelled to the wound on the blonde's head and her heart clenched a little at seeing Mary Lou hurt. She wouldn't show it though, not after what Mary Louise had done to her.

The blonde couldn't seem to look her in the eye. It was like she had given up on Nora ever forgiving her and it was a sad sight to see because Nora really didn't know how she felt about her anymore, she just felt numb.

Nora pushed back all her sentimental feelings and raised her chin.

"You need to help us bring Stefan back." She stated.

Mary Louise didn't even look at her as she replied.

"Why? Because Valerie will hurt me if I don't? Why do you even care?"

Her words were hollow and empty. They held no meaning and Nora knew what was happening. Mary Louise had given up. Now she didn't care if Valerie let her go or sent her back to the place they had been trapped in.

Nora licked her lips, trying to force a mask of indifference.

"I don't but-"

"Then there's no point. You should leave here. Let Valerie do what she wants with me."

Nora frowned.

"Mary Lou, look at me."

She didn't and Nora's patience disappeared as she went over to the blonde, took her chin her in her hand and jerked her head up to look at her.

"I said, look at me!"

Mary Louise finally looked into Nora's eyes and they started to water.

Nora bit her lip and released the blonde, taking a step back.

"If we help Valerie, she'll let us go." Nora explained.

"And then what? We'll go back to you hating me and me wishing I'd never been brought back from that hellish place!" She cried.

"When we were brought back, you couldn't even remember my name...you didn't believe that you loved me or that I loved you for that matter and now all of a sudden you are so sure of what you feel for me. How do I know you haven't just gotten so used to the part you played?"

The blonde's eyes narrowed but tears still spilled from them.

"Because I know how I feel! Yes, I pretended to love you but during that time...I don't know, it was like I remembered how to feel about you, about us and I just knew I loved you! I can't explain it, it just happened!"

Nora shook her head and she also fought to hold back tears but she did a better job of it than Mary Louise.

"You were the one person in the world who I loved without question and despite what you've done, I still..." Nora stopped herself and shook her head as though she wouldn't allow herself to say it.

Mary Louise looked up, her eyes widening slightly.

"What? Nora, you still what?"

"I can't...I won't."

"Nora, please, just tell me."

Nora shook her head again and turned her back on the blonde.

"I won't do this again. This isn't the first time you've broken my heart."

"And you think your hands are clean? You think you're so perfect? Maybe it's because everytime you've hurt me, I haven't said a damn thing!"

Nora turned back around, her eyes wide and Mary Louise knew that she was angry but she didn't care. What did she have to lose? Nothing. Nora wouldn't ever go back to loving her, not in the way she wanted her to and Valerie would probably kill her for not bringing Stefan back so Mary Louise let Nora get angry.

"I've never betrayed you." She snarled.

"Never? Really? Do you want to think on that for a while?"

Nora frowned.

Mary Louise smirked.

"How about I tell you then? Considering as how we are apparently done;

When we first met, you kept yourself guarded. You didn't let me in. You knew I felt something for you and you teased me. You kept bringing people back to the house to make me jealous and I watched you grin everytime you saw that I became angry."

Nora looked down at the floor, biting her lip.

Mary Lou continued but tears shone bright in her eyes and she swallowed to keep her voice under control.

"You hurt me with your mind games and I hated you for that but did I tell you? No, becaue I loved you enough not let you feel guilty about anything! If you knew how many times you'd actually caused me pain, _you'd_ be the one on your knees begging me to forgive you!"

Nora squeezed her eyes shut against the memory of it all.

It was true. She knew back when they'd first met that Mary Louise had feelings for her. Just like she knew the blonde was too shy to admit to it. Plus it was especially difficult because of the way things were back then so she had even more reason to hide her true feelings.

Nora had forced her to speak up but she'd done it in the cruelest way possible.

She would bring people back to the house, male and female alike and she would be all over them while she watched out of the corner of her at Mary Louise who would make an excuse to leave, go to her room or even show her displeasure openly at it all.

Nora knew and she played on it.

One night when Mary Louise was in her room crying over a love she felt she could never have, Nora came and told her to admit how she felt before Nora met someone who was honest; not just with her but with themselves.

Mary Louise had been so frightened of losing her that she confessed almost immediately. She told her everything and although it was the best thing that could've happened to both of them, it hurt Mary Louise to even have to be pushed that far and in such a merciless way.

Mary Louise sniffed and Nora was jerked back to the present.

"I'm sorry..." Nora said softly, realising all the pain she'd caused.

Mary Louise cried all over again and Nora went to her, holding her as close as she possibly could, tears streaming down her own face.

"I'm so sorry my love...we have both caused each other a great deal of pain. There must be a way that we can figure this out."

Mary Louise looked up at Nora.

"Let Bonnie do that spell again. Please, we have to try, Nora. I just want to remember how it was before all of this. I want to be with you again. I don't want to hurt anymore."

Nora closed her eyes as she rested her chin on top of the blonde's head.

"I don't want this hurt to destroy us, Mary Lou. We can fix this. Together. If you're willing?"

"Of course I'm willing! My God I love you! Why wouldn't I want to work things out?!"

Nora smiled and kissed Mary Louise's head.

She wiped the tears from under Mary Lou's eyes and she smiled warmly into them.

"I'll tell Valerie our new terms and then call Bonnie over."

Mary Louise frowned suddenly.

"No. You can use your magic. She's used something on me that prevents it, I can feel it but you, you can. Get rid of her and then call Bonnie. I don't care about Valerie, Stefan or any of them. I just want our future."

Nora smiled and nodded.

Then she headed for the door, pulling it open quickly and grabbing Valerie's arm as she stood outside. Pain shot through the other Heretic and she quickly passed out.

Nora let her hit the floor with a thud.

Mary Louise's eyes went wide.

"Is she dead?"

Nora grinned at the blonde over her shoulder.

"Of course not. I'm not a monster."

She then shut the door on Valerie and proceeded to call Bonnie.

 **Author's Note- Well, less tear jerking than originally intended but hopefully still moving. Sorry if there are any mistakes, I type quick. Thank you for following this story. Reviews are appreciated. X**


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

 **Author's Note- This chapter gets a bit smutty at the end, not too much though.**

 **If this is not your sort of thing, don't read. You have been warned.**

Nora waited patiently until Bonnie answered her phone.

She had thought about going to the witch's place but then thought better of it.

She had already unchained Mary Louise and now Valerie was in her place, her head hanging forward as she was still unconcious.

Mary Louise glared at the Heretic that she thought she could trust.

"Hello?" Bonnie's voice came through on the other end of the line.

"Bonnie, it's Nora. Could you come over here and try that spell again? Mary Louise wants to do it this time, for real." She said as she gave the blonde a wink.

"Yeah sure. Just give say...15 minutes?"

"No problem. We'll see you then."

Nora let out a breath and pocketed her phone.

"She said she'll be here in about 15 minutes."

Mary Louise nodded and then looked back at Valerie.

"What do we do with her?"

Nora shrugged.

"I'll think of something. Maybe along the lines of torture." She said with a cold grin.

The blonde didn't return it and Nora rolled her eyes.

"When you get your memory back, you'll remember how much fun a good torture session is, trust me."

Mary Lou nodded but she didn't seem convinced.

True to her word, Bonnie turned up 15 minutes later, a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hey, I got here as soon as I could-" She stopped abruptly when she saw that Valerie was chained to the chair and Stefan's body was on the table nearby.

The witch frowned.

"What's going on here? I thought I was here to restore Mary Louise's memory."

"You are. The other two are mere...annoyances. Pay no attention to them." Nora said flippantly.

"What happened here?" Bonnie asked she slowly walked over to Valerie.

Nora sighed.

"I could explain but right now I need you to give my girlfriend her memory back."

Bonnie folded her arms and stared Nora down.

"I'm not doing anything until you explain all of this; is this why you left my place in a hurry?"

Nora nodded and then showed Bonnie the picture of Mary Louise knocked out cold on her phone.

"Valerie sent me this. I had to come back alone. That was the request."

Bonnie nodded.

"And Stefan?"

Mary Louise filled in the blanks for her there.

"Valerie manipulated me into helping her so that I would get Nora to help bring Stefan back from the afterlife. Once I turned on Valerie, she knocked me unconcious, chained me up and forced Nora to come back here so that we could both help her with the spell but Nora turned as well and we turned the tables on her. That is why she is tied up and that is why Stefan is on that table. Now, can we please get on with things?"

Bonnie nodded.

"Sure. Thank you...for clearing that up." She said awkwardly.

The blonde couldn't be less bothered by the witch's thanks and walked over to the middle of the room, sitting down and holding her hands out.

"Well?"

Nora grinned and sat next to Mary Lou while Bonnie sat on her other side and set up the items just like before.

Then Nora had a thought.

"Shit." She hissed, causing both Mary Louise and Bonnie to frown at her in confusion.

"What?" Bonnie asked.

"We need Valerie to take the magic prevention spell off of Mary Louise. She put it on her while she was out cold. It prevents her from using magic but I don't know if magic works on her."

Mary Louise glared at Valerie and got to her feet.

She strode over to the unconcious Heretic and slapped her hard.

"Wake up you bitch!"

Valerie didn't wake up.

Nora rolled her eyes.

"I spelled her. She won't be awake until it wears off."

The blonde turned back to her with wide eyes.

"And how long is that?"

"A few hours, give or take."

"A few hours?! Nora, that's too long! I want my memory back now!"

Nora got up and walked over to her girlfriend, taking Mary Lou's hands in her's.

"I know you do but we have to be patient. You will get your memory back but it will take a little time. We can wait...can't we?"

Nora cupped Mary Lou's cheek and smiled warmly into her eyes.

Mary Lou smiled back.

"Of course we can. I just want things to be the way they were...when I actually remembered how to love you, the way you deserve to be loved."

Nora smiled again.

Bonnie coughed a little to get their attention and they both turned towards her.

"Sorry, Bonnie." Nora said first.

"But this is something we both want."

The witch smiled.

"No problem. Just let me know when she wakes up and I'll come back."

Then she had another thought.

"Actually, I'll tell you what; how about you guys go for a walk, talk about your feelings and whatever and I'll ring you when Valerie wakes up?"

Nora looked at Mary Lou and smiled.

"That would be nice. Thank you, Bonnie."

"Don't mention it."

So Nora and Mary Louise left Bonnie with a chained up Valerie and went for that walk.

...

The sun was just starting to set and Nora walked beside Mary Louise.

Now and again their hands touched but then Nora would pull her's away.

Mary Louise frowned slightly, wondering why Nora was being a little cold towards her when she had been so loving a short while ago.

Nora licked her lips before speaking.

"I'm sorry I'm a little distant." She said suddenly, as though reading Mary Lou's mind.

The blonde faked a smile and shook her head.

"It doesn't matter."

"No, it does. I should explain."

Mary Louise looked at the ground as they walked, prefering not to look directly at Nora.

"No, it's fine. You really don't have to."

"Yes, I really do."

Nora stopped walking and the blonde felt trapped. At least while she was walking she had something to concentrate on rather than solely focusing on Nora's words which she was sure wasn't going to be all she wanted to hear right now.

Nora's green eyes locked with her's and Mary Lou felt her heart jump a little.

"I want to be normal with you but until you get your memory back I can't feel that it's really you, do you understand?"

Mary Lou nodded.

"When I get my memory back then I'll start feeling the way I did before. The way I feel about you now, it's like...I've only just met you."

Nora nodded and smiled a little.

"I'm glad you understand."

The blonde frowned, her eyes darkening a little.

"There is one thing; why were you more comfortable with me when I was tied up than now?"

Nora shrugged.

"Because you were vulnerable?"

Mary Lou nodded. She'd take that answer. Besides, she didn't really want to talk about it anymore.

They continued to walk and this time, the silence between them was even more uncomfortable than it had been.

Mary Lou took a breath and looked at the sun as it set just behind the trees.

"It's a beautiful sunset, isn't it?"

Nora nodded.

"It is."

"Like you." The blonde said and then closed her eyes after she'd said it. Too soon.

Nora chuckled a little, pushing a strand of brown hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry...that was too much. I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's fine, really. It's something the old you would have said. The you that remembers all those things." Nora said with a genuine smile.

The blonde smiled as she looked down again, happy that Nora hadn't been annoyed with her over the compliment.

They walked some more, making awkward chit-chat about boring things; the weather, animals, people.

Before they knew what had happened, the sky had been taken over by the night and Nora frowned a little as she became hungry.

"You hungry?" She asked.

Mary Lou nodded with a slight grin.

Nora returned it.

"I trust you remember how to hunt?"

"Valerie taught-never mind."

Nora also ignored what Mary lou had been about to say and instead they both started looking for easy targets.

It didn't take them long. A couple out for a romantic walk, holding hands and talking quietly.

Nora nodded to Mary Louise and they followed them down a dark side street.

No one was around and as the couple headed towards an alley, Nora's grinned stretched. It was just too easy!

The vampires followed the couple and attacked them both in the middle of the alley. Mary Louise sank her teeth into the man while Nora cornered the woman and savagely bit into her neck.

Nora watched as the blonde drank deeply, her eyes rolling back into her head as she tasted her victim's sweet life force.

When she was done, she saw that Nora had finished and let her victim fall to the ground.

Both girls stared ar each other, fresh blood running through their veins and their hearts pumping not only from the bloodlust but from the adrenaline of a fresh kill.

Nora's eyes darkened as she moved to Mary Lou in a flash, pinning her against the wall and kissing her roughly.

The blonde moaned and returned the kiss, biting down on Nora's lip.

The brunette could taste a heady mixture of blood and Mary Lou and she dug her hands in the blonde's hair, pulling sharply and making the blonde vampire hiss in a mixture of pleasure and pain.

When Nora pulled back slightly to catch her breath, Mary Lou grinned at her but the grin was shaky as though she was unsure of something.

Nora was still in animal mode and grinned darkly at her.

"What's the matter? The Mary Lou I know always liked it a little rough."

"No, it's not that. You said you wanted me to get my memory back before...you know, anything happened."

Nora grinned.

"That was before we fed. This is just something else you'll remember once you get your memory back; after a feed, we always need a release. It's a side effect of the bloodlust but it's a great one. Now, come here."

Mary Lou let herself be pulled flush against Nora as the brunette ran her blood stained lips up the blonde's pale neck.

As much as Mary Lou wanted to experience this, to experience Nora, there was something holding her back and Nora felt the blonde become unresponsive to her ministrations.

She looked up at the blonde and licked her lips, wiping the blood from them.

"What's wrong?"

"This...feels wrong."

"Wrong? Why does it feel wrong?" Nora asked with a hint of annoyance. She always was an impatient girl.

Mary Lou shrugged.

"I don't know...maybe because for you, this is just sex but for me-"

"It's more? You don't even remember loving me!" Nora exclaimed.

"No, I don't. But I _know_ that I love you now."

Nora rolled her eyes.

"And you're still in girlfriend mode, right?"

"What's that susposed to mean?"

Nora stepped back from Mary Louise and folded her arms across her chest.

"When we first met, you and I, we did the cute couple thing and now things have changed; you've gone back to feeling the first stirrings of love and I'm already there. Trust me, if you remembered anything, you wouldn't have felt _anything_ wrong just then. In fact, if you could remember, you would have begged me not to stop."

Nora looked the blonde up and down and then walked off, leaving Mary Louise staring after her.

Did she follow? Did she stay where she was?

The blonde worried her bottom lip before she looked up.

"Nora!"

The brunette turned around slowly and watched as the blonde strode up to her, that bloodlust grin on her lips.

She took Nora's face in her hands and kissed her.

Nora smiled against Mary Lou's lips as the brunette pushed her back against the wall for the second time that night.

Mary Louise groaned as Nora bit her gently on her neck.

"Oh and Nora?"

The brunette looked up, wide eyes wondering what Mary Lou was about to say.

The blonde grinned.

"Don't stop."

Nora grinned and she hoped that when Mary Louise got her memory back, she would remember this night.


	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER 9**

Nora groaned and rolled over on the grass when her phone rang.

She pulled it from the pocket of her discarded jeans which were just in reach, and answered.

"Hello?"

"Nora? Where have you been? I've been trying to call you." Bonnie said with a good amount of irritation.

Nora sat up and took in her surroundings then grinned as she remembered Mary Louise and herself heading for the privacy of the forest.

Nora grabbed her top and held it to her chest although it was a little late for modesty.

"We er...got sidetracked."

"All night?"

Nora bit her lip and then heard Mary Lou stir behind her.

"Yes. Now why did you call?"

Bonnie sighed as if her reason for calling was obvious.

"Valerie's awake and has been for some time."

Mary Louise sat up behind Nora and kissed her shoulder as Nora rested her head back and closed her eyes. She just wanted to drop her phone and forget all about their problems but Bonnie's voice brought her back.

"Nora!"

Nora growled low in her throat and Mary Louise grinned.

"What?" Nora barked.

"Come back to the house. You want Mary Louise to get her memory back, don't you?"

Nora nodded and then realised she should respond.

"Yes, of course I do. I'm sorry, we'll be back shortly."

Bonnie disconnected without another word and Nora glanced over her shoulder at Mary Louise.

"We have to go home now."

The blonde pouted and Nora smiled warmly at her girlfriend.

God, she was adorable! Nora thought, wishing that they could just stay here all day.

But then she did want Mary Lou to get her memory back so they really had no choice.

Back at the house, Nora and Mary Louise found Bonnie standing in the center of the room. Valerie was very much awake but Stefan was no where to be found.

Nora opened her mouth when Bonnie spoke up and explained;

"Valerie will take the spell off of Mary Louise if I help her to bring Stefan back. Damon just took his body back to my place. We'll perfrom the spell there but I'm not gonna lie, having you two to help would increase our chances."

Nora glared at Valerie and folded her arms.

"Why should we help her?"

Bonnie gave Nora a hard look.

"Because like you with Mary Louise, she would do anything to bring Stefan back. Tell me that if you were in her position, you wouldn't have done everything in your power for Mary Louise, good or bad."

Nora clenched her teeth. Bonnie was right. Nora would kill, maim, torture, lie, cheat and steal for Mary Louise. She'd do anything if she was in Valerie's place.

She sighed and then turned her haughty gaze on Valerie who was still tied to the chair.

"Fine. Take the spell off and we'll help you."

"Nora! You can't seriously be considering helping her!" Mary Louise exclaimed.

Nora looked at the blonde, unfolding her arms to take the blonde's hand in her own.

"I'd do anything for you, you know that. I'm getting you back, I don't care what price I have to pay."

She then looked back at Valerie.

"You heard me, do it."

Valerie closed her eyes slowly and spoke the incantation in a hushed voice.

Mary Louise jerked like an electric current was running through her and then a golden glow seemed to pull itself away from her body, almost like an aura that was shifting.

Then Valerie opened her eyes.

"It's done."

Nora glanced at Bonnie who nodded in confirmation that it was indeed done.

Bonnie then set everything up while Nora and Mary Lou took their places.

Nora gripped Mary Lou's hand tightly while the blonde smiled and gave Nora's hand a reassuring squeeze.

Bonnie took both their hands and started conjuring the spell. It took a lot of strength and Nora joined in, helping her.

Mary Louise repeated the same actions as last time and just like last time, fell onto her side, unconcious.

Nora looked worried and then looked at Bonnie as the witch opened her eyes.

"Same as last time; wait till she wakes up. Don't force her awake."

Bonnie stood and went over to Valerie to untie her.

Nora's head shot up.

"Not until we know it's worked."

Bonnie frowned at the brunette.

"It won't matter, Nora. Valerie doesn't have anything to do with this anymore. The spell was taken off, we tried. Now we wait. I'm going to take Valerie back with me and when Mary Louise wakes up, meet us back at mine and we'll work on getting Damon back. Deal?"

Nora licked her lips and then lowered her eyes, nodding as she did.

Bonnie gave a small sigh of relief and then untied Valerie.

The witch and Heretic left the two vampires alone.

Now all Nora could do was wait.

...

Mary Lou's blue-green eyes opened and she looked around the room.

She was on the couch again.

Nora. Her mind reached out for her girlfriend and she sat up quickly, looking for her. She panicked when she couldn't find her and then a warm smile touched her lips as she found Nora asleep on the chair opposite.

She stood and walked slowly over to Nora, crouching down in front of the sleeping vampire.

She brushed a finger slowly and gently down the side of Nora's face and the brunette's eyes flickered open.

Green eyes met blue-green ones and she sat up slowly; afraid that Mary Lou wasn't really back. That it hadn't worked this time either.

"Mary Lou?" Nora asked, her voice shaking.

The blonde kept a stoic expression on her face then her lips split into a smile as she spoke a few lines of the poem that Nora used to recite to her every morning since they first met.

"Come live with me and be my love..."

Nora's eyes filled with tears and she lent forward, kissing Mary Lou and then holding her tightly.

"It's you. It's really you." Nora whispered into blonde hair.

Mary Louise chuckled.

"It was always was me, my love. I just couldn't remember anything."

Nora pulled back a little to look into Mary Lou's eyes.

"But you can now?"

The blonde nodded.

"Care to test me?" She asked with a wink.

Nora rolled her eyes.

"I would but Valerie told you everything."

"Not everything."

Nora raised an eyebrow.

"There is something she doesn't know."

Nora thought about it and then grinned.

Of course! Only Mary Lou and herself knew this one.

Nora smiled slightly.

"What did I give you in the gas station?"

Mary Louise smiled knowingly and took hold of Nora's hands.

"You gave me an engagement ring made from candy, and I told you that there is no one else I would rather explore this dreadful world with than you."

Nora smiled brightly.

"You do remember." She said softly.

The blonde vampire nodded and then her eyes darkened.

"I also remember everything that Valerie did." She snarled.

Nora stood, along with Mary Louise and nodded.

"That reminds me, we have to go to Bonnie's and help bring Stefan back."

Nora headed for the door while Mary Louise stayed where she was.

The brunette turned back.

"Mare?"

"She nearly destroyed us, Nora. What makes you think I want to help her?"

"We made a deal with her."

"Yes, I remember, but since when did we cower down to people who do wrong by us? She manipulated me, she blackmailed you. As far as I'm concerned, Stefan can stay dead."

Nora let out a breath. She didn't want to argue. She just wanted to uphold their arrangement and then go somewhere, anywhere else with Mary Lou and start again.

Everything she'd been envisioning, she wanted and she wanted to do it peacefully, without the fear of anyone coming after them.

"I am tired of being hunted, Mare. Who's to say that if we don't help her, she won't send Damon after us anyway?"

"Then we'll kill him." Mary Lou replied with a shrug.

"We can't do that. As much as I hate the arrogant bastard, he is still Lily's son. Which is another reason that we should help bring Stefan back. We owe it to her. To her memory."

"Nora, I understand that we have loyalty to Lily, dead or not, but I just want to focus on us. Everyone else can go to hell as far as I'm concerned."

Nora frowned a little.

"You don't mean that..."

"Don't I? What has anyone done for us, Nora. Even if we help Valerie and bring Stefan back, he's still not going to allow us to live as we want."

"So we'll leave Mystic Falls! Start off somewhere new! Please, Mare, can we just do the stupid spell and then leave? That's all I want."

The blonde sighed and then looked up at Nora.

"Fine but Valerie will pay for what she has done."

Nora shrugged, seeing it asn empty threat, and headed for the door again, this time with Mary Louise following her.


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER 10**

 **Author's Note- Mary Louise has had enough. Caution: there will be blood!**

Bonnie answered the door when Nora knocked and greeted them both with a warm smile.

"I guess it worked then."

Nora smiled and nodded.

"It did. Thank you."

Bonnie shut the door behind them and the two vampires came face to face with Valerie.

The Heretic offered them both a small smile and then looked behind Nora at Mary Louise.

"Good to have you back."

"Oh spare us the pleasantries." Mary Louise drawled with a roll of her eyes.

Nora inwardly grinned. That was definitely her Mary Lou.

Damon stood in the corner, near his brother's body.

Nora raised her chin.

"Shall we get on with it then?"

Bonnie nodded and Valerie took her place beside Stefan's body, joined by Bonnie, and Nora and Mary Louise stood on the other side.

Nora looked at Mary Lou as they held their hands over Stefan's body.

"Just like we did with Julian." Nora whispered.

Mary Louise nodded and they both shut their eyes. Bonnie and Valerie did the same.

They all spoke the words of the incantation and let their hands hover Stefan's body as they felt all their power working together.

It took a lot of time and effort but then Stefan's eyes snapped open and they all stood back as he sat up.

Damon's mouth dropped open when he saw his brother and Valerie had tears in her eyes. Bonnie and Nora smiled a little, happy that the spell had worked and Mary Louise kept her eyes on Valerie, showing little to no emotion.

The blonde moved to Nora's side as the rest of them started asking Stefan if he was alright and did he remember anything (which he did so no problem there like there was with her) and she took the brunette's hand.

"Can we go now?" She asked impatiently.

Nora smiled and then nodded.

"Yes. Of course we can."

The two left without so much as a goodbye and went back to the house to pack the few things that they had.

...

Nora packed a few books and Mary Louise stopped packing to watch her.

When Nora felt the blonde's eyes on her, she looked up with a bright smile on face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Do you have a plan for where we are to go next?"

Nora's brow furrowed.

"I haven't actually, no." She said sheepishly.

Mary Lou smiled and let out a small sigh.

"You were just fantasizing again, were you?" She asked playfully.

Nora nodded her head slowly.

Mary Louise came around to her side and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking up at the brunette.

"Tell me about your fantasy. What did you envision for us?" She asked softly.

Nora smiled as she recalled all these months of dreaming and she sank to her knees on the floor as she picked up a book of poems and flipped through the pages; not really reading them, just remembering that when she read the poems, they helped her see the perfect place for herself and Mary Lou in her mind.

"I see a little cottage by the river in the country somewhere. We would stay there all day, doing silly little chores, like cleaning, cooking, tending to the garden."

"Well I think I will take over the cooking, you seem to not be able to get the hang of that." Mary lou teased.

Nora chuckled and tapped her leg with the book.

"Very funny." She muttered but she said it with humour.

"What else is there?"

"We have a small garden...it's beautiful. Full of roses and lilies and the grass is so green and rich. The river runs right by our cottage and it's so soothing. We can stay by it for hours and nobody comes by because the place is so remote."

Mary Louise smiled as she imagined it in her own mind. It sounded like heaven.

Nora continued;

"When we do eventually have to feed, we'll go into the town and we'll go into the clubs and dance the night away before taking a couple of humans and making sure that we are sufficiently fed."

Mary Lou nodded.

"And then?"

Nora looked into her girlfriend's eyes and they softened.

"Then we go back home and drift off into a peaceful sleep in each others arms and when we wake up the next day, we'll realise that we never needed power or vast amounts of money; we have each other and that will always be enough."

Mary Louise smiled and lovingly kissed Nora.

"I cannot wait to make that happen with you." The blonde said.

Nora smiled warmly at her and then went back to packing.

"I would like to say goodbye to Bonnie before we leave." Nora told her.

Mary Louise nodded.

"Of course. She is your friend after all. There is something I have to do too. So take all the time you need. I'll be back before dark."

Mary Louise left the house before Nora, and made sure she was out of sight before taking her phone from her pocket and dialing Valerie's number.

The other Heretic answered straight away.

"Mary Lou? I wanted to talk to you. To say thank you. I'm sorry for what I put you through but you must understand that I only did what I did to save someone I love. You would've done the same for Nora." She babbled.

Mary Louise contained her anger and nodded her head.

"Of course I understand. In actual fact, I would love to put this all behind us. Can you meet me for a little chat?"

"Of course. Shall I return home?"

"No. Meet me at the cemetery. I think it's fitting; burying the past and all that."

"Good idea. I don't want anymore bad blood between us."

Mary Louise smiled.

"Neither do I. See you soon."

...

Valerie turned up at the cemetery gates and looked around. The blonde was no where in sight.

"Mary Lou?" Valerie called out but she didn't answer. Maybe she wasn't here yet.

Valerie's phone buzzed and she looked at it as she pulled it from her jacket pocket.

WHERE ARE YOU?

Valerie frowned, looking round again to make sure she hadn't missed her standing there.

She text back.

I'M HERE. WHERE ARE YOU?

INSIDE. NEAR THE SALVATORE CRYPT.

Valerie nodded. Makes sense that she would be inside.

OK. ON MY WAY.

Valerie made her way to the Savlatore crypt but still there was no sign of Mary Louise.

She stood, her back to the crypt.

"Where are you?" She whispered to herself.

Valerie heard a twig snap but didn't turn around fast enough as Mary Lou brought a thick plank of wood down on the back of her head.

The Heretic fell to the cemetery floor, out cold...

"Ah, I see you're awake." Mary Louise noted as Valerie slowly raised her aching head.

"What did you do to me?" She asked groggily.

The blonde smirked as she stood with arms folded across her chest, in front of Valerie.

"I think that was pretty obvious." She said with a glance at the plank of wood that was resting against the wall of the crypt.

"Where are we?"

"The final resting place of the Salvatores." Mary Louise replied as she looked around.

Valerie moved her arms and found that they were tied. Her eyes widened as she realised she was in trouble.

"What is this? You said you wanted to talk, to clear the air between us. Why am I here?!"

Mary Lou grinned inwardly. She could hear the panic in the other Heretic's voice.

"I actually wanted to teach you a lesson. One that you will not be so quick to forget."

Valerie swallowed as the blonde vampire circled her.

"You brought Nora and I back and then proceeded to manipulate me when you discovered I had no memory. But one thought keeps running through my head, something I hoped you could shed some light on."

She stopped circling and glared down at Valerie.

"Why is it that Nora had her memory intact but I didn't?"

Valerie opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. So Mary Louise continued.

"Would you like to know what I think?"

Valerie licked her lips nervously.

"I think that you made it that way. I think you took my memory from me so that you had a bargaining chip to use. For you see, what would be the point in bringing us back as we once were? What was the certainty that Nora and I would agree to help you bring Stefan back? There wasn't any. You had to make it certain."

"Yes, I did, ok? I admit that. I made it so you had no memory. I knew that if Nora had something to fight for, she'd do anything and you would be easy to talk to because you didn't know any better."

The blonde nodded along to every word as Valerie confirmed her suspicions.

She crouched down in front of the other Heretic and rested her elbows on her knees and as she clasped her hands together.

"Do you know why I have brought you here?"

Valerie glanced around and then shook her head.

"I want to show you what your actions have lead to; Lily rests here but she wouldn't have been. She would still be alive, if not for that mouth of yours'." She spat.

"I had to tell her! She had a right to know that Julian was not the man she thought he was!"

"And where did it get you, Valerie? Lily is dead, our family is torn apart and are you Stefan's lover? No, you're not, because he loves another and nothing you do will change that! We all know the truth, the only one who doesn't, is you."

Valerie looked down.

"It won't last...him and Caroline. He'll come back to me."

Mary Louise grinned darkly.

"No, I don't believe he will. I see the way he looks at her in comparison to the way he looks at you. You Valerie, are his past and that's all you'll ever be to him. It doesn't matter wether you were carrying his child or not."

Tears filled Valerie's eyes.

"That's not true...he loved me once, he-"

"Can love you again? You poor girl. Are you really that deluded?" Mary Louise asked with a pout, her tone portraying nothing but mockery.

"I was carrying his child until your precious Julian killed it!"

"Lily died because of you!"

"You can't blame me for speaking the truth!"

"But why now?! Why did it take you so long to say all this?! Your only goal was to get back into Stefan's life you didn't care who got killed or hurt because of it! You are selfish, Valerie! And you wonder why I have always hated you!"

Valerie stopped and Mary Louise stood there, her eyes dark and threatening.

"I brought you here... to kill you." The blonde whispered dangerously.

The fear returned to Valerie's eyes and she shifted as much as she could in the chair.

"You-you don't mean that?"

"Don't I?" Mary Louise questioned calmly. It was eerie how calm the blonde vampire appeared to be.

"For all you have done, Valerie; the thing I cannot forgive is that you nearly destroyed Nora and I...

I lied to her, _you_ made me lie to her. I believe that if I had not of gotten my memory back, she would never trust me again. I nearly lost her because of your manipulation and lies. I will never be made to feel that way again. I will not risk losing Nora again."

She took a menacing step towards Valerie, making the other Heretic look up at her.

"And the only way to give me peace of mind, is to eliminate the problem and that problem, Valerie...happens to be you."

Valerie started to plead with Mary Louise when the blonde's hand came across her face, snapping the girl's head to the side. She tasted blood in the corner of her mouth.

She turned to face Mary Louise again and this time, the blonde used the back of her hand, making a cut open along the right side of her face.

Valerie cried out as the blood dripped down her cheek, stinging and throbbing.

"Stop! Please, stop!" Valerie cried.

Mary Louise grabbed the front of Valerie's top and dragged her, along with the chair, up so that she was eye to eye with the other Heretic.

"I'm not even close to being finished with you yet." She growled.

The next thing Valerie knew was that she was being thrown across the crypt whilst still tied to the chair. As she hit the wall, the chair broke underneath her and she shook the ropes from herself as she crawled into a corner, holding onto the wall like a frightened child. Her back ached, her face felt sore and looked painful and still Mary Louise didn't seem satisfied.

The blonde vampire came over to her and grabbed the girl by her hair, lifting her to her feet as Valerie called out and struggled to get free but the blonde was too strong.

"Mare, stop! You don't have to do this!"

"Oh yes I do. Everytime I think of the fact that I could've lost Nora, I feel sick to my stomach but then I remember that it was you that could've made that possible and instead I get angry. Beating you to a bloody pulp should brighten my mood."

She then laughed and Valerie winced.

"In actual fact, I'm having the time of my life!" On the last word, she brought her boot up and kicked Valerie back to the other side of the crypt.

Valerie coughed as she held her stomach where Mary Louise's boot had made contact.

"And what would Nora say if she found you doing this?" Valerie asked, choosing another tactic, hoping to stop Mary Louise's torture.

"She would be disgusted..." A voice from the doorway said softly.

Mary Louise turned, breathing hard, to find Nora standing there, looking at the blonde as if she'd just murdered a small child.

Valerie rested on the floor.

The blonde wiped Valerie's blood from her cheek.

"Nora, I have my reasons."

Nora shook her head as she stared down at Valerie.

"What could possibly be a good reason for harming your family?"

"She is not our family." Mary Louise snarled.

"She is to me!" Nora roared, going over to where Valerie was laying.

"Would someone who you call 'family' almost destroy us?!" The blonde questioned, trying to quell her anger.

"I would've done the same for you, Mare. I would've manipulated Valerie if it meant getting you back. Can you not say the same?"

"I could've lost you." Mary Louise said, her voice breaking.

Nora looked over her shoulder at the blonde.

"But you didn't. We found each other again. You didn't need to do this." She added as she turned her attention back to Valerie.

Nora's hand brushed the strands of hair out of the other girl's face, finding that even her hair had blood in it. Mary Louise really had done a number on her.

Nora stood and faced Mary Louise.

"You could've killed her."

"That was the plan." The blonde didn't see the point in lying. She would've killed her had Nora not come along.

Nora shook her head.

"You may have your memory back, Mare...but you're not who I remember."

Nora went over to Valerie and helped her stand as she looped the other Heretic's arm around her neck and Nora put her arm around Valerie's waist. They then both headed out of the crypt.

"I'm taking her back to the house." Nora muttered with a frown.

Mary Louise followed them out when Nora stopped.

"I don't think you should come." She said softly.

Mary Louise frowned.

"But...that's my home."

Nora thought about it and then nodded.

"Fine."

But there was something about Nora's tone that set Mary Louise on edge.

Regardless, the blonde went with Nora and Valerie back to the house.

...

Once back at home, Nora put Valerie to bed and went downstairs and sat in the kitchen to think things through while Mary Louise sat in the lounge, staring into the fireplace.

After about a few hours, Nora came in from the kitchen and looked at the blonde.

"I'm going to bed. It's been a long day."

Mary Louise nodded and got to her feet, preparing to follow Nora upstairs.

The brunette remained where she was, knowing what Mary Louise would do.

"I think you should sleep down here tonight."

Mary Lou frowned.

"What? Why?"

"I...I can't sleep in the same bed as someone who is capable of hurting their family so brutally." Nora replied, avoiding Mary Lou's gaze.

The blonde vampire pursed her lips.

"To my way of thinking, she deserved what she got. If you hadn't of come along, I would've done a lot worse."

Nora nodded and then finally brought her eyes to Mary Louise's.

"And that's what I'm afraid of."

The blonde's expression softened and she moved towards the staircase. She stopped when she saw Nora's grip tighten on the rail.

"Are you...are you afraid of me?"

Nora looked down for a moment and then back up at Mary Lou.

"I'm afraid of what you might do." She admitted.

Tears sprang to Mary Lou's eyes.

"Nora, I would never hurt you. No matter what you had done."

"I didn't think you would ever hurt Valerie. I know you hated her but I didn't think you would...beat her so savagely."

"I nearly lost you, Nora. I cannot forgive that. Her actions nearly tore us apart."

"But they didn't. You have to stop going back to that, Mare. We found each other again but this, what you've done...you may have destroyed us all by yourself."

Nora then turned and headed upstairs.

"Nora! Nora, wait!" Mary Louise called up the stairs but she heard the bedroom door shut and knew the conversation was over for tonight.

Maybe everything would be better in the morning. Maybe they would talk and get things out in the open. Maybe Nora would forgive Mary Louise for hurting Valerie and she would see that Mary Lou was so scared of losing Nora that it threw her into a blind rage.

She had hope that things would work out. That they would be ok. They loved each other, of course they would be ok!

With that comforting thought in her mind, Mary Louise took off her boots and curled up on the couch, pulling a blanket over her and falling asleep quite quickly.

But when she woke up the next morning, she found a note on the table in front of her.

She sat up and opened it, reading it aloud to herself;

 _Mary Lou,_

 _I'm sorry but it's over. I love you but your actions have shown me that I can't trust you and without trust, what have we got? Nothing._

 _I'll always love you but we can't be together. I'm sorry._

 _Love_

 _Nora_

 **Author's Note- What can I say? I give and then I take away ;)**

 **Don't worry, Mary Lou isn't about to give up on Nora that easily. The question is, will she find Nora before she leaves Mystic Falls for good?**

 **Thank u for your continued support on this story guys, it means a lot. X**


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER 11**

 **Author's Note- This is a very short but heavy chapter. I'll update soon. X**

Panic threatened to overwhelm her as Mary Louise raced upstairs to their room.

She opened the door and found that Nora, along with her things, had gone.

She then ran into Valerie's room where the other Heretic sat upright and tried to push herself into a corner upon seeing the blonde barging into her room.

"Where's Nora?!" Mary Louise roared.

"She-she's gone." Valerie stuttered.

"Gone? Gone where?" The blonde barked.

"She said something about going back to the last place she thought of as home."

Mary Louise's eyes widened as she realised exactly where it was that Nora was going.

"She's going back to England." She breathed before turning and running from the room. She had to find her. She had to get to her before she boarded the plane.

She pulled on her boots once she was downstairs, grabbed her jacket and ran out the door.

She then stopped herself and closed her eyes. She pictured Nora in her mind's eye and when she opened her eyes again, she was standing in the airport terminal.

People were rushing about, ready to board their plane.

The spell used to teleport was useful but it didn't take you straight to a person, only their location or near it.

The blonde looked around frantically, desperately searching for her girlfriend.

Mary Louise remembered the note, telling her that they were over but the blonde refused to accept that. Mary Louise believed that Nora was the only reason she was still alive. Without her, life would be a bore and not worth living. Without Nora, Mary Louise was have probably rammed a stake through her own heart decades ago. A life without Nora, now that she knew and loved her, was worth nothing. She knew that, had always known that.

The blonde lifted her eyes to the board that noted the times and destinations of all the flights and she saw that the one to England had not yet gone. Maybe she wasn't too late.

She started walking, although she wasn't sure where she was going exactly; only that she hoped her bond with Nora, the bond of just being inlove with her alone, would lead her to the other vampire.

...

Nora sat on the bench at the airport and hung her head. Her suitcase sat beside her as she waited for her flight to be announced.

Was she doing the right thing? Leaving Mary Louise like that? Without so much as a goodbye? Nora sniffed and felt tears spill over. She angrily wiped them away and looked down at the floor.

She hadn't lied when she said that she would always love Mary Louise, that was clear to even an outsider, but she couldn't trust her. She had hurt Valerie to the point that she'd nearly killed her. Nora never thought that Mary Louise could be capable of hurting someone she was so close to. Alright, so Mary Lou and Valerie hated each other but they were still family and Lily had always taught them to stick together. When Valerie had been hit by those stupid teens, Mary Lou and herself had come to the aid of their family member and made sure that the humans paid for what they had done.

Mary Louise seemed to have forgotten that. Nora thought about all the times they'd had together; the fights, the silly little disputes that amounted to nothing. The times when they went on long walks til the sky darkened and the stars shone bright, how they would hunt together and how they were so in sync, it became almost too easy to make a human their prey.

Nora smiled to herself as she remembered Mary Louise making her laugh just because Nora was having a down day or maybe it when they had first arrived in Mystic Falls and she was bored because Lily had said they were not to leave the house. She bit her lip to keep from smiling and then sat up a little more.

Yes, they were all very fond memories but that didn't excuse the fact of what Mary Lou had done.

Suddenly, the flight to England was announced and Nora let out a calming breath before standing and taking hold of her suitcase. This was the right thing to do. It was hard but she had to do this.

"Don't go."

Nora stopped. The voice was so full of hurt, it could only belong to one person.

She glanced over her shoulder and saw Mary Louise standing near the bench she had just been sitting on.

"I have to...You-"

The blonde was openly crying as she walked towards Nora.

"I know-I know what I did and Nora, if I could take it all back, I would, I swear."

Nora sighed and bit her lip.

Mary Louise stepped forward again and cupped Nora's cheek.

Nora could see the tears shining brightly in the blonde's eyes and how they stained her pale cheeks.

"I love you, Nora. Please...don't leave me. Stay."

Nora closed her eyes and the pair rested their foreheads against the other's.

"You know I love you but what you did..."

"I know, I know, and it doesn't matter what I say, you'll always think what I did was inexcusable but I need you to know this; I will do anything for you. I will take care of Valerie until she recovers from what I did, I'll go with you wherever you want. We can start again just...please Nora, don't leave me." The words turned into sobs and Nora squeezed her eyes shut as she felt tears of her own coming forward.

Mary Louise moved forward and gave Nora a gentle kiss.

"Tell me you love me...tell me we're not done. Please." She whispered against her lips.

Nora moved her head back an inch and opened her eyes.

"I love you...but I can't trust you."

"Yes you can. I swear you can, I-"

"What you did to Valerie, how do I know you won't do that to me one day?"

"Nora, I could never harm you! I love you! I would never hurt someone I loved."

"Valerie is family. I am your family."

"Nora, I am so sorry for what I did and I'll probably never be able to make up for it but you have to believe me when I tell you that all I want, all I need, is you, and if you leave me now, I've lost my place in this world because the only one keeping me in it, is you."

Nora took hold of Mary Louise's hands and stepped back.

"Maybe that's the problem."

The blonde frowned.

"I don't understand..."

"You are living for me, for us, and anything that threatens us, you need to destroy because of the fear of losing me but Mare, don't you see? You have done that when it could have been avoided. Maybe without me, things might be easier."

Mary Louise shook her head as panic rose within her again.

"No don't say that! Nothing is worth it without you! Nothing will be easier without you! Nora, don't do this!"

Nora shook her head, tears falling from her eyes and her finger's slipping out of Mary Lou's grasp.

"I'm sorry, Mare..."

"Nora...No! Please, don't go! I need you!"

The blonde sank to her knees as Nora walked away from her.

Mary Louise's heart broke into a thousand pieces as she watched her reason for living walk out of her life to start over on her own.

This wasn't how it was supposed to end. It couldn't. They loved each other.

This wasn't goodbye. Was it?

A man came over to Mary Louise and offered to help her up. She slapped his had away angrily and glared at me.

"Get away from me!"

The man frowned, muttered something under his breath and walked off, leaving the blonde to kneel there and wonder what she was going to do now that the love of her life had gone.

...

Nora boarded the plane and took her seat. She looked out of the window as tears continued to stream down her face.

She hated seeing Mary Louise's heart broken expression everytime she closed her eyes.

It was hard when you had to break a relationship you had mixed feelings about but the difference with this, was that they both knew they were meant for each other. That when they had met, they had found their missing piece, the love of their lives.

They both knew that it didn't matter how long they walked this earth, they would never find anyone else that made them feel they way they did when they were together.

Nora thought about a life in England. In that cottage. All by herself. Without-

The brunette closed her eyes and sank down into her seat as she fought to keep more tears back but she sobbed and whimpered until the the only way to stop the sound, was to bite her closed fist and muffle the noise.

When she had found Mary Louise standing behind her at the terminal, she had felt a little irritated. She knew that it would have been easier if Mary Louise hadn't come to find her. If she had just been able to go, it still would've been difficult but it wouldn't have been so heart wrenching.

Mary Louise had begged her to stay, had fallen to her knees as Nora had walked away from her.

As Nora closed her eyes, an air hostess came up to her, she looked a little shaken.

"There is a call for you...she said if you don't answer, she'll kill everyone in the control room."

Nora rolled her eyes. That was Mary Louise, always trying to fix things with violence.

Didn't the girl ever learn? This was exactly the reason she couldn't stay with her!

Nora got up and gave the hostess a small, reassuring smile.

"No one is going to be killed, I promise you."

She then went to the front and picked up the phone.

"Nora?" Mary Lou's voice came through, hopeful.

"Mare, you're not going to kill those people and I'm not coming back."

There was a pause.

"I know...it was an empty threat to get them to let me use the phone, and Nora...I love you and I hope you find everything you're looking for, even if it is without me."

Nora sighed.

"I love you too but-"

"It's the violence, I know. I can't change who I am...but I can try, I _will_ try for you."

Nora leant her head back as she closed her eyes.

"I can't come back, Mare...I'm sorry."

There was another long pause before the blonde spoke again.

"Alright. Just...just know that I love you and I always will."

Nora fought to keep her voice under control.

"I love you too."

Then the line went dead and Nora hung up slowly.

...

Mary Louise watched as the plane took off. She imagined she could see Nora looking out the window, and she smiled brokenly.

She watched until the plane was completely out of sight.

That was it. She was gone.

The blonde went over to the bench and sat down on it, feeling broken and numb.

She couldn't get her head around the fact that Nora had really gone. That they were over.

What did she do now? Go home? And do what?

Mary Louise licked her lips and tasted fresh tears again.

"What am I going to do without you?" She whispered as she found herself looking at a bleak future without Nora being a part of it.


	12. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER 12**

The house was quiet. It had been ever since Nora had left almost five months ago.

Valerie, despite her fear of Mary Louise, had stayed and watched out for the blonde; Mary Louise suspected it was out of guilt only.

Mary Louise laid curled up on the couch, staring at the chair that Nora used to sit in.

Valerie's boots sounded on the stairs and she came into the lounge.

She sighed sadly when she saw that Mary Louise hadn't moved since a few nights ago and she was begining to look very pale. Valerie had convinced her to go out and feed but that was getting harder to do. She didn't want to do anything. She didn't even want to move. She just wanted to lay there and stare at a chair, with one of Nora's tops that she'd forgotten pressed against her nose.

"Mare...you need to feed. You'll make yourself sick."

The blonde's eyes flicked to Valerie for only a second before going back to staring at Nora's chair.

Valerie walked over to the blonde but kept a safe distance.

"Nora wouldn't want you to do this. She'd want you to keep strong and healthy."

Mary Louise sighed and gripped Nora's top even tighter, her knuckles turning white.

Valerie tried to think of a way that Mary Lou would eat.

"What if I brought someone to you? You could feed that way."

"I don't want anything." The blonde muttered.

"You need to feed. You'll waste away and you won't be able to-"

"Be able to what?" She snapped, her eyes centering on Valerie.

"I've lost everything, Valerie, and if you were anyone at all, you'd have the good sense to kill me and put me out of my misery."

Valerie frowned at the blonde's words.

"I won't be doing that. I mean, alright, you annoy me and sometimes I even hate you but I would never kill you, Mare."

The blonde rolled her eyes and then continued to stare at the chair again, inhaling Nora's lingering scent as she closed her eyes.

Valerie sighed and left the house. There had to be a way to get Mary Louise to feed.

As soon as the door had shut, tears began to fall from Mary Louise's eyes.

This was how it was every day now. Valerie would come downstairs, find Mary Lou curled up on the couch with Nora's top just staring the chair, Valerie would go out and then Mary Louise would cry until she exhausted herself to sleep.

When she woke up, she would still be alone.

On that day, the same as any other day as far as she was concerned, a knock came at the door. She glared at the door as if it had offended her and then went back to staring again.

"Mary Louise?" A voice called.

The blonde frowned. Bonnie? It sounded like her but what did she want?

"Mary Louise, I heard...about Nora. I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

"I'm fine." Mary Lou shouted back, only raising her head a little so that her voice could be heard.

"I know that's not true. Valerie told me what happened. Can I come in?"

"No."

There was a pause before the witch spoke again.

"Y'know, Nora and I talked a lot. About you, about the two of you, maybe you'd like to give me your side of the story."

The blonde rolled her eyes. She didn't want to talk to anyone but if it was about Nora, she could do that. Sometimes talking about her helped but then when Mary Louise was alone and left with the memories, the pain came rushing back like a relentless tidal wave.

Still, Mary Lou got up, still holding onto Nora's top and opened the door.

Bonnie gave the vampire a small, sympathetic smile before Mary Louise turned her nose up in disgust and walked back to the couch.

"Oh don't give me that look. I can't stand pity."

Bonnie shut the door behind her and shrugged.

"And yet here you are wallowing in it."

"Pity from someone else I can't take, self pity, now that I can do just fine."

Bonnie looked around at the house. It was dark, depressing and all the flowers that had been dotted around the house had died.

Bonnie went to sit in Nora's chair.

"Not there!" Mary Louise barked at her.

Bonnie paused and then looked at the chair next to Nora's and sat on that instead.

"Sorry but...that was Nora's chair." She explained in a softer voice.

Bonnie nodded in understanding, although she felt a little awkward.

The blonde was sitting upright now with Nora's top in her lap, her fingers playing with a stray piece of thread.

"I know it's customary to offer a guest a drink but I'm afraid I just can't be bothered with etiquette. If you want one, the kitchen is through there." She said, gesturing with her head.

Bonnie smiled."

"I'm good, thank you."

Mary Louise only shrugged and Bonnie opened her mouth to speak;

"So, what about you? How have you been?"

The blonde's eyes locked on the witch and blinked as though the question was beyond ridiculous.

"The love of my life just left me and you're asking how I've been?"

Bonnie winced inwardly.

"Yeah, sorry, stupid question. Well, have you-"

"You came here to talk about Nora, not me."

"Alright, well...if it helps, I don't think you've lost Nora."

For the first time in months, the blonde's eyes lit up.

"You don't?"

"No. When you and Nora broke up- again Nora's decision- I found her after your talk in the hospital, She was on my bed, crying."

Mary Louise listened intently as Bonnie continued.

"She'll always love you, Mary Louise. I think she would've wanted you to go with her."

"And I would have but she made it perfectly clear that we're over."

Bonnie shook her head.

"Give her time. She'll come around."

"She's in England, Bonnie. I doubt she'll come running back anytime soon."

Bonnie shrugged.

"You never know."

The blonde gave her a bittersweet smile.

"Yes I do...Nora had this fantasy all planned out in her head. I suppose that she will try and see that out. The only difference is that it will not include me."

Bonnie frowned and then got to her feet, muttering something.

Mary Louise frowned.

"I didn't catch that, what did you say?"

"I said I am so sick of this!"

The blonde blinked up at her.

"You claim to love Nora but instead, you're sitting here feeling sorry for yourself when you should be out there, fighting for her! Trying to fix things between the two of you!"

"She is in England, or did I fail to mention that?" She questioned, the sarcasm evident in her voice.

"Then go to England! Make her see that there is no where you wouldn't go to find her! Show her that you haven't given up, no matter what she says."

The blonde looked doubtful, as though she wasn't sure what to do.

Bonnie looked her right in the eyes.

"When I first met you, you were something to be feared. You wouldn't let anyone make a fool of you-and if they did, they soon regreted it-and you sure as hell wouldn't give Nora up for anything in the world. Now show me that the Mary Louise I first met is still in there."

The blonde stood, facing the witch, her eyes darkening.

"No one speaks to me like that. Ever."

Bonnie felt a little fearful but stood her ground until Mary Lou grinned.

"But I'm glad you did."

She then went to the door, pulling on her boots and grabbing her jacket.

Bonnie frowned as she watched where she was going.

"Where are you going?"

The blonde smiled for the first time in months.

"I'm going to get my girlfriend back."

 **Author's Note- Another short chapter but I really wanted to give you guys something happy after that downer, but you gotta have a little heartache to appreciate the good, right? Hope you liked this one anyway. The next chapter will be longer. X**


	13. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

The blonde looked out of the window of the plane that was flying herself, and all the other passengers to England. She had a small, content smile on her face as she thought about turning up and proving to Nora that she would do anything to win her back.

She started thinking of all the things that had upset Nora; the violence, the whole thing with Valerie, all these things she could fix and she would.

Mary Louise shifted in her seat as she thought about all the possibilities she might face; would they stay in England or would they go back to Mystic Falls?

Either way it didn't matter, as long as Mary Louise was with Nora, she couldn't care less if they ended up in some silly little run down pub that had been abandoned years ago. As long as she had Nora, Mary Louise didn't care about anything else.

She settled down a little more and prepared to sleep through the flight as it would seem like no time at all when they touched down in England.

She wondered, as she closed her eyes, what Nora was doing now.

Was she in that little cottage that she'd told Mary Lou about? Was she out feeding? Had she met someone? That thought gave her cause to panic and her eyes snapped open but then she thought about it; she knew Nora. Five months was not long enough for the other girl to move on and so quickly. She let out a calming breath and closed her eyes again, telling herself to stop over thinking things. Everything would be fine. She had nothing to worry about.

...

Nora had soon discovered the dangers of her old home and she found herself going into hiding more than she thought.

She knew people still hunted vampires but she didn't know it was such a big deal in England. Mind you, wasn't Rayna cruz, the vampire hunter, the main reason that they'd left England in the first place? There would always be another hunter to take the previous one's place. It was just a shame that Nora hadn't thought that part through too well.

Still, she had gotten used to the lifestyle.

Nora was now living in some run down flat and she went to the underground bars to keep safe and hidden.

She would never forget her first night in London when she'd been chased down the streets by a man claiming he could see the evil in her and she would be vanquished before the night was out. She hadn't thought he was serious until he pulled out nasty looking dagger.

Everytime, she thought about going back to Mystic Falls, she thought of Mary Louise and it stopped her from leaving London. She couldn't go back and face her again. It would bring it all back. All the pain and heart ache, not to mention the disappointment. She closed her eyes and stared at the drink in front of her.

 _'God, I miss you.'_. She thought as she pictured Mary Lou's face in her mind.

That beautiful face that would always smile when Nora looked her way. She then shook her head and gulped back the rest of her drink then ordered another.

...

The plane touched down on the runway and Mary Louise smiled.

 _'Soon.'_ She silently promised Nora.

Mary Louise followed the other passengers off the plane and into the terminal.

Once she was through and outside, she breathed in the night air.

She was doing the right thing. She would get Nora back.

A man sidled up to her.

"You need a cab, love?" He asked, his thick english accent making her smile, as she remembered nothing but american now. Her accent still remained with her, as had Nora's. Although sometimes she thought she heard Nora's slipping now and again. It was only natural that she would pick it up.

She gave him a small nod.

"I do, thank you."

She was in a good mood and although she was hungry, she didn't feel like killing the man who had offered her a ride to wherever it was she was going. The first thought was London; they'd always talked of visiting it.

She followed the man across the road and away from the airport.

A black van was on the other side and behind that, sat a black cab.

The man smiled and then she was suddenly pushed, gagged and bundled into the back of the black van. Before she could even fight back, she was struck across the back of her head and knocked unconcious...

The ground was cold. Damp and it smelt...well it didn't smell too good.

Mary Louise opened her eyes and sat up to find that she was in some kind of bunker. Her eyes widened as she noticed others in here with her.

Gone were her nice clothes, replaced by a white tank top, black leggings and combat boots. She tried to ignore the fact that this meant someone had undressed and dressed her while she'd been unconcious and sat up.

The others stared at her, some showing interest, others', not so much.

One walked towards her. A girl with long black hair and bright blue eyes. She looked to be about late twenties.

"You're the new blood." She said as she crouched down in front of her.

The blonde frowned.

"New blood?"

The girl nodded.

"I'm Tamra."

"Mary Louise." Mary Lou said distractedly.

"Where...where are we?"

Tamra looked around and sighed.

"They call it the Bunker, and that's exactly what it is, a bunker. We're prisoners to the humans."

"Prisoners?"

Mary Louise knew that she was surrounded by other vampires; they could all sense each other anyway.

Then a thought flashed through her mind.

"Is Nora here?"

"Nora?" Tamra repeated with a confused frown.

"Nora Hildegard...is she not here?"

"No. I've never heard of a vampire by that name."

The blonde got to her feet and brushed her dirty blonde hair back, feelings traces of dirt and grease slide under her fingernails. She grimaced and lowered her hand.

"So what is the Bunker?" She asked with an eye roll.

Tamra showed her a scar on her right shoulder that travelled up to her neck.

"I got this, second fight I was here. I didn't want to fight; to kill my own kind but...the humans, they don't leave you with any choice."

Mary Lou tried to piece together what she was saying and finally, it clicked.

Her eyes widened and her mouth went dry.

"This is a fight ring?"

Tamra nodded and tears threatened to come forward but she held them back.

It would do no good to show her weaknesses here.

"They find you...the vampire hunters. They have contacts in other countries and they wait for you. Once they have you, they bring you here and there's only one way out."

The blonde looked at Tamra with barely concealed hope in her eyes.

"And that is?"

Tamra's blue eyes locked with her's.

"You die."

Mary Louise sank back against the wall.

"So that's it? They make us fight like dogs until one kills the other?"

"Pretty much."

Mary Louise swallowed and licked her lips nervously.

"And how long have you been here?"

Tamra grinned but there was a sadness to it.

"Tonight will be my sixty-fifth fight. I've never lost and I've been here almost three years."

The blonde tried not to show how she felt but it was difficult, given the circumstances.

Tamra looked her up and down.

"How did they get you?"

She blinked a few times then replied;

"A man asked me if I wanted a cab, the next thing I know, they're bundling me into the back of a van and I woke up...here."

Tamra nodded.

"And you?" Mary Louise asked but really she was trying to take her mind off how hopeless she felt right now.

Tamra shrugged.

"I went out with a 'friend' and they got me drunk, drugged me up and I woke up here. Turned out the 'friend' was working with these guys and he was paid to bring me in, and here I am."

Mary Louise looked at the others.

"And them? I can't be the only one who came in new today."

"You are. The rest have been here for only a few months. The next best fighter after me is Gray. He's a bastard; literally pulls no punches but he's only doing what the rest of us are doing in here; trying to survive." She explained with a hard look in her eyes.

Mary Louise nodded.

Then a harsh sound, like a metal bar being scraped against the wall could be heard and she frowned as a man came into view.

"Almost time guys. Tamra, you're up against Lisa. Shouldn't be too hard for you."

Mary Louise watched as Tamra snarled at Lisa and Lisa shrank back into the shadows.

Lisa was going to die tonight, that much was clear.

Tamra started doing stretches while Lisa was comforted by a tall woman with peroxide blonde hair.

"Tamra?"

The black hair vampire looked up at Mary Louise.

"You're not really going to kill her, are you?"

"I have to hun, I'm going out of here in a body bag otherwise."

The blonde's gaze went from Tamra to Lisa and she gave the younger girl a sympathetic look.

It was another two hours before Mary Louise heard human voices and she knew that the fighting was soon about to start.

Tamra stood, squaring her shoulders while Lisa just stepped up next to her but kept a safe distance.

Then two huge doors slid back and showed a crowd of humans. surrounding a cage.

Mary Louise glared at them from the darkness of the bunker.

They were exactly what she had expected; all rich and pompous people with more money than sense, who enjoyed watching other people-or in this case, vampires- tear each other apart for their own entertainment.

Tamra and Lisa walked into the cage and the metals doors were shut behind them.

The other fighters could watch too.

Mary Louise watched as Tamra made short work of Lisa. She waited for the younger girl to move in close before, sweeping her feet out from underneath her and snapping her head back until her neck broke. Then just like the others, she was dragged away, out of sight.

A huge cheer erupted from the audience and Mary Louise turned her head away.

She shouldn't be here. This was all wrong. It felt like some terrible nightmare that she couldn't wake up from. She didn't want to fight, they couldn't make her. She'd promised no more violence and she had to stick to it if she ever wanted to get Nora back.

They opened the gate and Tamra went back into the bunker as the humans celebrated her victory.

She grinned at Mary Louise.

"Knew she wouldn't last a minute."

"You didn't have to kill her. We are stronger than all of them put together and we fight for their amusement! Have you no shame?" Mary Louise growled at the other vampire.

Tamra locked eyes with her.

"These people...they're not stupid. We all have others on the outside and they are using them to keep us here. If we step out of line, they kill who we love."

Mary Louise stared to panic.

"Nora..." She breathed.

"Do you think they have her?"

Tamra shrugged.

"Probably."

The back haired vampire turned away while Mary Louise turned her face the wall and silently cried.

...

Nora kept drinking. It helped to ease all the horrible thoughts that constantly ran through her head. This underground bar was a safe haven for her and the warlock running it didn't seem to mind her being there at all. Well, she didn't cause any trouble so why would he mind?

There were a few others in here with her tonight and they were quietly chatting. That all stopped however, when the door opened and a man walked in.

The warlock held his hand up in a threatening manner.

Nora stopped drinking and watched the exchange between the two.

She knew that the man was human but something else had set the warlock on edge.

They talked, about stupid little things. Each man was defensive and guarded.

The man suddenly looked at Nora.

"Is she?-"

"Human." The warlocked snapped.

The man raised an eyebrow.

"So what is she doing in here?"

"She has telekinesis, which alients her from other humans. She feels more like a freak than one of her own, so she comes here."

Nora frowned.

Why was the warlock lying? She opened her mouth when the warlock shot her a look that made her keep her mouth shut.

The man walked over to her and smiled pleasantly.

"Telekinesis is nothing to be ashamed of. Now if you were like anyone of these...I would be a little worried. You would be sought after and no one wants that." He said by way of warning.

Then he smiled again.

"But you...you're a beautiful girl and you shouldn't be worried about such things."

Nora looked down.

The man lifted her chin to make her look him in the eyes.

"I'm Hugh. What's your name?"

"Nora."

"Nora, what a lovely name. Would you mind if I sat with you, Nora?"

The brunette shook her head.

She had a feeling she should be afraid of this human. The warlock's expression had told her as much.

She forced a smile.

"I'll get us some more drinks."

Hugh nodded and waited while she went over to the bar.

The warlock stared at her when Nora gave him a questioning look.

"Would you like to tell me what that was all about?" She asked in a hushed voice.

The warlock looked from Nora to Hugh and then back again.

"Hugh is a hunter. A vampire hunter to be exact. He comes in here looking for vampires to add to his stupid little fight team."

Nora's eyes widened.

"What?"

"If he knew you were one, he wouldn't be flirting with you. He would take you to the Bunker and you wouldn't come out. So please, do yourself a favour, act human and leave here as soon as you get the chance." He warned as he placed her drinks on the bar.

Nora nodded and took the drinks back to her table.

"So, telekinesis...that must be fun." Hugh said with a smile.

Nora shrugged.

"Sometimes."

"Have you ever killed anyone with it?"

Nora remembered the warning about the fight team and shook her head.

"No. My family are strict and forbid me to use my powers."

He sat forward, clearly interested.

"Aw, that's no fun. Show me what you can do. Move that empty glass over there." He said, pointing at a glass on another table.

She offered him a small smile.

"I'd rather not."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun. I've never seen anyone use telekinesis before."

"I really don't want to."

Nora silently cursed the warlock for saying that she was telekinetic when she had no clue of how to prove it without muttering a simple spell but it's not like that would go unnoticed.

"I promise there's nothing wrong with using it."

"I said no." She snapped, trying the firm approach.

Hugh held up his hands.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed it."

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that."

They both finished their drinks with awkward chit-chat and then Hugh spoke up.

"Look, I'm sorry about before. How about I make it up to you? Take you out somewhere."

Nora scratched the back of her neck.

"Oh I don't know. I just got out of a relationship and-"

"I promise it'll be fun. I doubt you've ever seen anything like this before."

Nora felt uneasy and looked at their empty glasses.

"I'll think about it. I'm just going to get another drink. You want one?" She asked, silently hoping that he would just leave.

"I can't. I have to get home but I'll stay until I get an answer from you. I can wait at least that long."

Nora nodded and went to the bar again.

The warlock looked at her and filled up her glass.

"You have to go."

"What?"

"You have to go out with him. It'll look suspicious if you don't."

Nora frowned.

"I didn't know you were listening in."

"I'm trying to save your arse and if you want to live, go with him on this stupid date and then leave as soon as he takes you home."

Nora nodded.

"You're serious about this...aren't you?"

"Things have gotten bad here. Once the humans realised they could use vampires for sport, they didn't stop and it's been going ever since. You only need one person to identify you as a vampire and it's over for you, Nora. Go. Home."

The brunette frowned.

"I've been coming here for five months and you're telling me this now?"

He shrugged.

"A hunter hasn't been in this bar in almost five months. I thought you were safer not knowing."

Nora shrugged. She didn't understand his logic but then she didn't have the time to argue.

All she had to do was go on this ridiculous date with Hugh and then leave. Back home. Back to Mystic Falls. Back to Mary Louise...

"There is just one problem with all this." Nora began.

The warlock looked at her expectantly.

"I'm gay."

"So?"

"So? If he expects me to...do stuff and I don't, then he'll find it weird and I won't know what to do."

"You'll tell him you're gay." The warlock said with a shrug.

Nora frowned.

"So why would I agree to go on a date with him if I'm gay? That doesn't make any sense."

"Look, just do the date and find a way to slip away." He said with an exasperated sigh.

Nora rolled her eyes.

"There are so many flaws in your plan, warlock."

"The name's Marv, and you'll be fine if you just keep it simple."

He then nudged her impatiently.

"Just go over there and tell him you'll go. I want him gone from my pub."

"Yeah, you're not the only one."

Nora sucked in a breath and took her drink back to her table.

Hugh looked up at her, waiting for her answer.

"So?"

"So...I accept."

He smiled brightly.

"Brilliant! I'll pick you up tomorrow night at six."

Nora forced a smile she didn't feel and nodded.

"Great. I look forward to it."

Hugh left and Nora sat there, wishing she'd never left Mystic Falls.

 **Author's Note- Hope you enjoyed this new twist. Please rate and reveiw!**

 **P.S. sorry for any mistakes. X**


	14. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER 14**

 **Author's Note- Hey guys, thanks so much for all your reviews and support with this story, it means a lot. Thanks again. X**

Mary Louise shook her head.

"No. I can't do it, I won't."

Tamra patted her on the back and spoke in a low tone.

"If you refuse, they'll kill you anyway."

Again, the blonde shook her head.

"I don't care. I won't kill him."

Tamra tried a different approach. She shrugged.

"Well they could kill you but either way, you have to fight."

Mary Louise closed her eyes and thought of Nora. She then locked gazes with Tamra.

"If I fight or show any form of violence, I will have broken my silent promise to Nora."

Tamra frowned.

"Look, I don't know anything about this Nora but I should imagine that if she loved you, she'd want to you fight to stay alive."

Mary Louise considered this but still, her promise meant more to her than anything, and what were the odds of her getting out of here anyway? If she died, at least she would have been faithful to Nora and she could die happy with that knowledge.

Tamra licked her lips.

"Alright, you're up against Neo. He's a werewolf and I promise you Mare, he'll rip you limb from limb. I've seen him fight before. He doesn't hold back. If you do, he'll kill you. He's the only werewolf they have. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about him but I didn't think they send you up against him this soon. "

Mary Louise shook her head.

"I don't care. I won't be killing anyone tonight."

Tamra shook her head and walked away from the blonde.

There was no changing her mind and Tamra prayed that Mary Louise saw sense before Neo got his claws into her, literally.

...

Hugh sat in his flashy sports car as he waited for Nora. She'd told him to meet her here rather than where she was currently living.

He checked his reflection in the interior mirror and smiled, showing bright white teeth. He loved himself, that much was clear but something about Nora intrigued him. It could have been because of the telekinesis or just her appearence in general; she was a beautiful girl and Hugh believed that beautiful girls shouldn't be hidden away in underground pubs with the rest of the supernatural trash. They should be shown off, taken to exclusive parties and when he was in a foul mood, used to make his friends envious of his charm and lifestyle.

It didn't take her long to show and she gave him a small smile.

If he thought she looked stunning before, that was nothing compared to how she looked now.

She wore a simple tight black dress with knee high boots and left her hair long. Her make up was subtle but she was prefect and Hugh didn't like anything that wasn't perfect.

He gave her a charming smile as she slid into the passenger seat, that dress of her's riding up her legs that she had to discreetly pull it down. Hugh's mind started racing as it started thinking of all things he and Nora could do after their date.

"So, where are we going?" She asked with a small smile.

Hugh gave her a wink.

"You'll see and may I say first of all that you look absolutely stunning."

Nora smiled shyly.

"Thank you."

They pulled away from the kerb, the wheels of the sports car spinning as Hugh seemed to think that the laws of the road didn't apply to him.

They drove for a long time and Nora was getting a little nervous.

They barely talked and when they did, Hugh was always looking where he shouldn't be.

Nora felt a pang of longing for home, for somewhere where she knew she was safe, and as much as she'd tried to deny it, she missed Mary Lou.

Finally, they pulled up outside what looked like an abandoned factory but there were lights on inside and Nora could hear a lot of people talking, glasses clinking and subtle music playing in the background.

Hugh killed the engine, climbed out, opened her door and helped her out as well, then tossed the keys to a valet.

Nora looked up at the building.

"What is this place?"

"You'll see." He said, again with that wink of his.

He took her hand and lead her inside.

She had been right, inside, hundreds of people stood, talking and laughing, clinking glasses and drinking as much free champagne as they could.

Nora knew this crowd; the privileged, the weathly, the more cash than actual brains sort of crowd.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. Of course someone like Hugh would know a place like this.

He smiled back at her and she hid her feelings of revulsion remarkably well.

In front of them was a huge hexagonal cage and behind that, two big sliding doors. Surrounding the cage was an electric fench that went all the way up to the ceiling. Black curtains hung on either side, they were probably closed when the cage wasn't in use. But what was the cage for?

Nora frowned with confusion. _Don't be dog fighting, don't be dog fighting_. She silently chanted in her head.

Hugh stopped when they stood at the front and gestured to the cage.

"Can you guess what this is used for?" He asked.

Nora shook her head, offering a nervous smile.

He grinned.

"I know because of your...abilities, that you think of yourself as a freak but Nora, the things behind those doors, they are the real freaks. You are a beautiful human being, never forget that."

Nora looked at the sliding doors that had first caught her attention.

"What...what are behind those doors."

A woman took the stage and Hugh grinned again.

"You're about to find out."

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming to the fight cage. Are you ready for some bloodshed?!"

A huge cheer errupted from the crowd and Nora looked around as Hugh joined in.

"Fight cage?" Nora echoed.

Hugh nodded.

"You must have heard of vampires, right?"

Nora nodded, keeping up the pretence that she wasn't one.

"Well, we have hunters for them, only they don't kill them, they bring them here to fight."

Nora felt her anger rise and fought to keep it under control.

"You make them fight? Until what?"

"Until one kills the other." Hugh said with a shrug.

"And this is entertaining for you?" Nora asked, unable to keep the judgement from her voice.

He frowned slightly.

"Yes. Oh come on, Nora! They're not dogs! Just vile pieces of trash that have no business being on this planet. You should see how much money something like this generates."

Nora blinked at the hurtful words. Money. That's all that ever mattered to some people and usually, those that cared about money more than anything were the lowest of the low. People who would use someone's suffering for their own gain or to use someone's humiliation to garner interest, again to further their own prospects, now they were the real monsters.

Nora kept silent as she watched the first fight.

A vampire with black hair and piercing blue eyes stepped forward.

The woman commentator introduced her as Tamra and she had never lost a fight. She was up against some scrawny little vampire who looked like a junkie.

His name was Jet. Sadly, no one would probably even remember Jet.

It was over too fast. Tamra snapped his neck a few seconds after the bell had rang.

Nora closed her eyes as they dragged the smaller vampire's body from the cage and sent Tamra back behind those sliding doors.

Nora turned to walk away.

Hugh grabbed her arm.

"Hey, what's wrong? Where are you going?"

Nora forced a hesitant smile.

"I feel a little dizzy, I'm just going out to get some air."

Hugh pulled her into him, pushing a glass of champagne into her hand.

"Drink this, you'll feel better. Besides, you don't want to miss this. We've got a new fighter about to step up."

Nora shook her head and took a long gulp of the champagne, hoping it would numb her, make her not feel sick at the sight of seeing her own kind used in this deplorable way.

"Ok, well Tamra made short work of that one! Up next, new blood!"

The cheer was so loud and Nora wished that she could run out of this place and never look back but if she ran, they would think two things; the first being that she condoned vampires in general and the second being that she was one, and that was not something she could risk.

So she stood and watched as Hugh looped an arm around her shoulders.

"New blood will be facing the werewolf Neo! We all know how vicious Neo is, don't we ladies and gents? Lets' see how new blood measure's up!"

The doors slid back and Neo walked out, snarling at the humans that looked in at him, and behind him-Nora's heart stopped and her lips parted, the champagne glass slipping from her hand and smashing to pieces on the floor.

Hugh looked at her.

"Nora, are you alright?"

Nora nodded mutely.

 _Mary Lou..._

The bell rang and Neo ran at Mary Louise, slamming his fist into her stomach.

She was thrown back across the cage and hit the metal hard before falling to the floor.

Nora stood there and watched, helpless.

Neo came back at the blonde and hit the side of her face, cutting her cheek open and making blood drip onto the floor.

Mary Louise struggled to get to her feet and spat the blood out, glaring at the werewolf.

Neo snarled at her.

The commentator grinned.

"Oh, looks like new blood isn't much of a fighter! Maybe she needs some motivation and guess what folks? It's a full moon tonight."

The woman raised a remote to the ceiling and it opened directly above the cage to reveal a full moon.

Neo grinned and Nora panicked.

Even Tamra was looking worried.

Mary Louise stared at Neo as he laughed at her.

"Now you're in trouble." He growled.

Nora's eyes widened.

"Stop this." She whispered.

Hugh frowned upon hearing her.

"What?"

"I said stop this! He's going to change and he's going to kill her!" She cried, grabbing hold of Hugh's jacket collar and shaking him.

He glared at her.

"That's the point. She's only new blood. It'll be over soon."

"You can't let this happen!"

"Why? She's just vampire scum."

Nora was getting more and more desperate. It was now or never.

She just hoped that Hugh would be too scared of having a real vampire infront of him, that he'd do what she wanted.

"I know her!" She shouted.

Hugh looked shocked.

"What?"

"I said I know her! Now stop this before she gets killed and I kill everyone in this entire room!"

Hugh grinned. He didn't seem scared. Not at all.

"No. If you're a vampire lover, you should learn that they have no place among us."

He really was dense, wasn't he? She'd just threatened to kill a roomful of people and he still didn't see that she was admitting that she was a vampire!

Nora turned her attention back to the cage as Neo transformed into a fully grown werewolf. He'd doubled in size, teeth gleamed when he opened his mouth and his claws were as sharp as razors.

Nora ran forward but stopped just before the electric fence.

"Mare!"

The blonde looked and her eyes widened at seeing Nora standing there.

"Nora, why are you here?"

"Mare, you have to fight back!"

Neo circled Mary Louise before running into her and sending her flying.

She hit the floor with a sickening thud.

Nora crouched down, wanting desperately to touch Mary Lou, to pull her into her arms and out of harm's way.

"Mare, you have to fight him." Nora said, trying to keep from crying uncontrollably.

The blonde, who looked battered and tired, shook her head slowly.

"I can't...I made a promise the day I left to find you, no more violence. If I die tonight, then I'll have kept my promise."

Tears spilled down Nora's cheeks.

"And if you die, I will have lost the love of my life."

Mary Louise looked into Nora's eyes, well aware that Neo was playing with her, waiting for her to get up, only so he could knock her down again.

"You left me, Nora...you broke my heart. I came here to get you back but there was always that doubt in my mind if you would ever come back with me. What is the point in fighting him, if I have to go back to Mystic Falls alone?"

"You won't. I swear, Mary Lou. You won't be going home on your own. I love you and I want everything that we had before. Please, just kill him and we can go home."

The blonde glanced at Neo who was circling closer.

"It's not that simple."

Nora disagreed.

"Kill the werewolf and leave the rest to me."

Mary Lou frowned in confusion.

Nora gave her a small smile.

"Please, just trust me."

The blonde then nodded and Nora stood, watching as Mary Louise stood and faced Neo. She couldn't do what Nora asked.

Hugh came up beside Nora and watched with glee in his eyes.

Nora glared up at him but Hugh was too busy watching the fight to notice Nora's hateful expression.

This would be the last fight that Hugh would ever see. Nora silently promised.

Mary Louise clenched her fists and stared at Neo.

"You want to get out of here?" She asked, keeping her voice imperceptibly low.

The werewolf seemed to hear her and stopped snarling.

"I have a plan...but I need your help."

He growled again and Mary Louise wasn't sure if he was listening or not.

"If you help us-" She said, glancing at Nora, and Neo followed her line of sight-" then we can kill them all. You want that, don't you?"

She looked into the werewolf's eyes and hoped that he would follow through.

She moved in closer to him and told him her plan, hoping against all hope that he was listening; he stood just as much to gain from this as she did after all.

Mary Lou threw the first punch and Neo came back at her, slamming her into the cage. It made her head spin but at least he wasn't killing her. Yet.

She turned and just as she did, he slammed into her, claws raking across her chest...and right where her heart was.

Nora screamed as she saw the blood and Mary Louise go down.

No...that couldn't be it.

The woman pressed the remote, and the ceiling came back into place as Neo reverted to his human form.

"And the winner, Neo!"

The cage opened and someone came in to remove Mary Lou's body.

Nora's eyes watered and she watched with anger as one of the humans touched her girlfriend's body.

Mary Louise's arm shot up and grabbed the human's neck, snapping it violently.

"Now!"

Neo opened the sliding doors and all the vampires came forward.

Hugh grinned at their act of trying to get to freedom.

"Very nice display there but what now? You have one big electric fence stopping you."

Nora was suddenly behind Hugh, her hand gripping his neck, her other hand inflicting pain into his head. He started screaming in pain.

"Release them or this little headache of your's will eventually lead to your head exploding. We're talking little pieces of your brain scattered all over this place." Nora threatened, her voice almost like a growl.

His hand gripped her arm and he clenched his teeth.

"You're one of them."

"Oh how astute you are. Now do as I say."

Hugh looked at them.

"And then what? They'll kill everyone in here and you'll probably end up killing me anyway."

Nora tightened her grip on his neck.

"I'll cut you a deal; let them go and I'll let you go. The rest will die but you'll live."

He frowned.

"You'll kill everyone in here?"

"Oh please, don't pretend to care about them. We all know you value your own life more than anyone else's. Now, do we have a deal?"

Hugh looked at the people and then at the vampires plus the werewolf.

Finally, he nodded.

"Ok, deal. Let me go and I'll let them go."

Nora nodded but held onto him as he looked at the woman and she pressed the button on the remote to disable the electric fence.

A door that was hidden within the fence was opened and they all came pouring out, killing any human that was close to them.

Nora waited until Mary Lou was clear of the fence and then released Hugh.

He ran as fast as he could, stepping on fallen people and not caring about who he left behind.

Nora ran to Mary Louise and held her close.

The blonde closed her eyes as she held onto Nora, tears pushing against her lashes.

"I knew I'd find you." Mary Louise whispered.

Nora stroked her blonde head.

"Always."

They both looked up as Hugh ran for the exit.

The vampires were tearing into people, making them all pay for their ill treatment. Blood soaked floors made footing a little tricky but the two vampires made it outside.

Hugh was running over to his car, looking for the valet who had his keys.

Nora and Mary Louise watched the human panic.

The blonde turned to her girlfriend.

"May I?"

Nora grinned and gave her a light kiss.

"He's all your's, darling."

Mary Louise then proceeded to hunt Hugh down as Nora watched.

But Mary Lou wasn't just going to kill him and Nora knew her girlfriend better than anyone.

No, to kill Hugh would be merciful and neither of them were in that kind of mood.


	15. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

Nora examined her nails as she waited for Mary Lou to return.

It was a nice, cool night and Nora was content in the fact that Mary Lou and herself would soon be on a plane, heading back to Mystic Falls.

The blonde strolled round the corner, her mouth stained with Hugh's blood and a predatory grin on her lips.

Nora returned the grin, righting herself, as she'd been leaning against the wall of the abandoned factory.

"I wondered where you'd gotten to." Nora said as she met Mary Louise.

The blonde grabbed the back of Nora's head and crushed their lips together, letting Nora taste Hugh's blood.

Nora moaned into the kiss and her hands came up to dig into Mary Louise's hair.

The blonde grinned and pulled back slightly.

"Now, what to do about this place." She said, glancing up at the factory.

All the vampires and Neo, had escaped and were now running free so it was clear, save for all the human corpses.

Mary Louise was a little hurt that Tamra hadn't come to see her but now that Nora was here, that only bothered her a little but not enough to sulk over.

Nora shrugged.

"Leave it."

Mary Louise frowned.

"Leave it? And what if they start it all up again? It'll be used for the same thing or worse."

Nora looked thoughtful.

"I suppose you do have a point."

Mary Louise stepped back from Nora and smiled as she muttered a spell and fire instantly lit up the building from the inside, devouring everything in it's path.

Mary Louise smiled and looked at Nora as the fire reflected in her eyes.

Nora then took hold of Mary Lou's hand.

"Let's go home."

 **END**

 **Author's Note- So that's it guys. Thank you so much for all your reveiws, follows/favs. (I know I say that a lot ;))**

 **I hope to upload some more stories involving these two.**

 **If you liked this one, don't forget to check out my other Noralise fanfic,**

 **'I Will Always Choose You', if you haven't done so already.**

 **Thanks again. X**


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